(New York) Oil prices started to rise again on Wednesday, stimulated by a rebound in demand in the United States as well as by statements from the president of the American central bank (Fed), who is still considering rate cuts This year.
The price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in May rose 1.12%, to close at $82.96.
A barrel of American West Texas Intermediate (WTI) due in April gained 1.25%, to $79.13.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) indicated on Wednesday that crude oil inventories had increased last week by only 1.4 million barrels, while analysts had expected almost double ( 2.7 million).
This smaller increase is largely attributable to the ramp-up in American refineries, whose utilization rate increased from 81.5% to 84.9%.
This restart corresponds to the end of the refinery maintenance season, which traditionally lasts between the end of January and the end of February.
For Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group, operators mainly noted the acceleration in demand for refined products, with gasoline deliveries notably jumping 6.4% over one week.
The jump in gasoline consumption and the faster pace of refineries led to the melting of 4.5 million barrels of stocks of this fuel.
Phil Flynn also noted the slight decline in American production, to 13.2 million barrels per day, compared to 13.3 previously, a development likely to support prices.
The market also welcomed the comments of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell during his hearing before a committee of the House of Representatives.
Although he repeated that the members of the monetary institution were waiting for confirmation of the decline in inflation, the central banker continues to favor the scenario of cuts in the key rate this year.
The prospect of a rate cut is usually positive for overall consumption and oil demand.
Black gold was also able to count, according to José Torres, economist at Interactive Brokers, on the announcement by the company Saudi Aramco of an increase in its prices for deliveries to its Asian clients in April, interpreted as a sign of confidence in the evolution of prices.
Another boost is the decline of the dollar, handicapped by Jerome Powell’s statements.
The fervor nevertheless faded at the end of the session, a loss of steam that Phil Flynn attributes to the resistance observed in prices once WTI crossed the technical threshold of 80 dollars.