Brent dips as US crude inventories rise
The front-month ICE Brent contract has declined by $0.33/bbl on the day, to trade at $64.23/bbl at 09.00 GMT.
IMAGE: Oil pump jacks. Getty Images
Upward pressure:
Brent’s price has felt some upward pressure, following the recent western sanctions on Russian oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft.
According to ANZ Bank’s senior commodity strategist, Daniel Hynes, Russia’s seaborne crude shipments decreased the most since January 2024, with four-week average volumes at 3.58 million b/d for the period ending 2 November.
Lukoil and Rosneft are Russia’s two biggest oil producers. The US and UK sanctions have helped ease some market concerns about a potential supply glut anticipated in 2026.
“There are clear and obvious risks [to supply] in the form of potential disruptions to Russian oil flows," remarked ING Bank’s head of commodities strategy, Warren Patterson.
Downward pressure:
Brent crude’s price has moved lower after the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a big build in crude stocks.
Commercial US crude oil inventories have gained by 5.2 million bbls to 421 million bbls for the week ending 31 October, according to data from the EIA.
Yesterday, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a larger build of 6.5 million bbls for the same week.
“Oil prices settled lower yesterday with a large increase in US crude oil inventories,” Patterson said.
A build in US crude stocks typically indicates lower demand for oil and can put some downward pressure on Brent's price.
By Aparupa Mazumder
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