Oil prices were little changed after the increase in US stockpiles

Oil prices remained almost unchanged on Thursday after rising to a nearly one-week high in the previous session, amid pressure on the market due to an industry report showing an increase in US oil inventories, Reuters reports, UNN writes.

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Brent crude futures rose 27 cents to $76.31 per barrel at 11:15 GMT (13:15 Kyiv time). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 12 cents to $72.37.

Crude oil inventories in the United States increased by 3.34 million barrels last week, market sources said, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute on Wednesday.

Oil prices declined slightly on Thursday due to rising US stockpiles, said Ole Hansen, an analyst at Saxo Bank.

“The market continues to lack a clear direction as supply disruptions in Kazakhstan and a delayed OPEC+ production increase are offset by concerns about global demand,” Hansen said.

Official data on oil reserves from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) are due to be published on Thursday.

Analysts predict that US stocks increased by 2.2 million barrels of crude oil in the week ended February 14.

Separately, Russia said that oil flows through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, the main oil export route from Kazakhstan, were reduced by 30-40% on Tuesday after a drone attack on a pumping station. A 30% reduction would be equivalent to a loss of 380,000 barrels per day of supply to the market, according to Reuters calculations.

However, other factors and a potential increase in oil supply have heightened price concerns.

Potential resumption of oil supplies from Iraqi Kurdistan will offset supply risks, ING analysts said in a note.

Turkey, which is home to the port of Ceyhan, through which Iraqi oil is loaded from Kurdistan, has not received confirmation from Iraq that supplies will resume on Thursday, the country’s energy minister told Reuters.

The resumption of Iraqi oil supplies will add 300,000 barrels per day to the market, ING analysts say.

Import duties announced by the administration of US President Donald Trump could affect oil prices by raising the cost of consumer goods, analysts say, weakening the global economy and reducing demand for fuel. Concerns about demand in Europe and China are also helping to keep prices under control.

“It’s natural to be worried about the global economic outlook as Donald Trump takes a sledgehammer to the existing global ‘free trade structure’ with signals of a 25% duty on US car imports,” said Bjarne Schildrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB.

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