(New York) Oil prices ended only slightly lower on Wednesday, despite the announcement of another massive increase in US crude inventories, which indicates the firmness of a market ready to rebound.
The price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in April fell 0.23%, to close at 85.38 dollars.
The barrel of American West Texas Intermediate (WTI), with maturity in March, returned 0.59% to 78.59 dollars.
Prices recovered at the end of the session after an air pocket following the publication of the weekly state of American stocks, the WTI dropping up to 2.28%.
“It’s impressive, given what we have seen” in recent days, commented Stephen Schork, analyst and author of the Schork Report.
To the announcement on Monday of the forthcoming sale of 26 million barrels drawn from American strategic reserves (SPR) was thus added the surprise jump of 16.3 million barrels of commercial stocks, announced on Wednesday by the American Agency Energy Information System (EIA).
This increase, which corresponds to eight times what analysts expected (+2 million), is the eighth in a row. Since mid-December, commercial reserves have increased by 53 million barrels net.
Despite the irresistible rise in reserves, a challenge in the middle of winter, and the prospect of an influx of barrels drawn from SPRs, the price of WTI is down only 1.42% since Friday’s close.
The price of the WTI futures contract with delivery in March remains close to that of the following maturities (April, May and June), notes Stephen Schork, an illustration of the fact that the imbalance between supply and demand in the short term is less marked than expected. .
The price of Brent is even higher for April than its equivalent for the following months, another sign of a certain firmness of the market.
“Demand is more sustained” than appearances might suggest, according to the analyst. According to the EIA, the volumes of refined products sold on the American market are however officially more than 10% lower than their level last year at the same time.
Prices also resisted a rebound in the dollar, a movement which is usually unfavorable to them.
They were supported by new forecasts from the International Energy Agency (IEA), which expects record oil demand in 2023, with a figure revised upwards (101.9 million barrels per day) compared to to its estimate last month (101.7 mb/d).
This projection is in line with that of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which also raised its forecast on Tuesday to 101.87 mb/d.
For Edward Moya, of Oanda, many brokers remain positioned on the rise and switch to purchases as soon as prices fall, which ensures market stability.