Rising US crude inventories push Brent lower

The front-month ICE Brent contract has moved $0.08/bbl lower on the day, to trade at $75.97/bbl at 09.00 GMT.

PHOTO: Crude oil barrels. Getty Images

Upward pressure:

Brent’s price found little support from escalating fears of a supply squeeze.

Operations remain halted at Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s (CPC) pumping station located in the Kavkazsky district of southern Russia, after it came under a Ukrainian drone attack on Monday.

The facility transports over two-thirds of all oil exports from Kazakhstan, and crude from Russian oil fields, including those in the Caspian Region, CPC said.

“Kazakh crude exports from the Black Sea port of Novorossyisk remain reduced by about 30% or 380,000 b/d following a Ukrainian drone attack on the Kropotkinskaya pumping station,” VANDA Insights’ founder and analyst Vandana Hari said.

Downward pressure:

Brent’s price moved lower after the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a rise in US crude oil inventories.

Commercial US crude oil inventories increased by 4.6 million bbls to touch 432 million bbls for the week ending 14 February, according to data from the EIA.

A surge in US crude stocks can indicate a drop in oil demand, which can cap Brent's price rise.

By Aparupa Mazumder

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