(New York) Oil prices fell on Wednesday after US crude oil stocks swelled, while European gas prices continued to fall due to mild weather and comfortable stocks in the EU.
The price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea, for delivery in April, fell 1.41% to $81.60.
Its American equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), for delivery in March, lost 1.57% to $76.64.
The accumulation of crude oil inventories in the United States, well above expectations, pushed prices down.
During the week ended February 9, US crude inventories jumped by 12 million barrels while analysts on average forecast an increase of 3.35 million barrels, according to a consensus established by Bloomberg News.
Gasoline reserves fell by 3.7 million barrels, but fuel demand was disappointing.
“The swelling of crude stocks is explained by the low rate of use of refineries”, in the middle of the maintenance season for this equipment, which resulted in more untreated crude and therefore more stocks, explained Andy Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates.
“Moreover, although we have seen a drop in gasoline and fuel oil reserves, the market has been disappointed by weekly demand which is in decline, which has put more pressure on prices,” indicated the analyst at AFP.
“The oil market continues to be impacted by events in the Middle East which could lead to a disruption in supply and on the other hand, the market is facing disappointing growth in demand, despite the optimism of the “OPEC,” Lipow added.
Negotiations for a truce between Israel and Hamas continued on Wednesday in Cairo, while Israeli bombings left dozens dead in Gaza and also targeted southern Lebanon, reviving fears of an escalation between the two border countries.
Since Tuesday, Egypt has hosted representatives from the United States, Israel’s main supporter, and Qatar, where the Hamas leader is based, for talks on a truce including a new release of hostages taken to Gaza on the 7th. October during an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement against Israel.
But “although truce talks have begun in Cairo, the continuation of the Israeli assault on Rafah (could lead to) a renewed tension around the Red Sea, a key artery of world trade”, underlines Tamas Varga, analyst at PVM Energy.
On the natural gas side, the Dutch TTF futures contract, considered the European benchmark, lost 1.83% to 24.97 euros per megawatt hour (MWh).
In addition to the forecast for milder weather, gas reserves, although in high demand for heating during the winter, are still 66.58% full on average in the countries of the European Union, according to the European platform Agregated Gas Storage Inventory (AGSI).