“Oil prices remain steady on Nov. 20 as concerns that escalating hostilities in the Ukraine war could disrupt supplies from Russia”, — write: www.epravda.com.ua
Oil prices remained steady on Nov. 20 as concerns that an escalation of hostilities in the Ukraine war could disrupt oil supplies from Russia and signs of rising Chinese crude imports offset rising U.S. crude stockpiles.
About this informs Reuters.
Brent crude fell 5 cents to $73.26 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures remained at $69.39 per barrel.
Escalating war between major oil producer Russia and Ukraine this week is keeping the market under pressure.
“We can expect (Brent) oil prices to remain above $70 for the time being as market participants continue to monitor geopolitical developments,” said IG market strategist Yip Jun Rong.
On Tuesday, Ukraine used American ATACMS missiles for the first time to strike Russian territory. The President of the Russian Federation lowered the bar for a possible nuclear strike.
“This marks a new escalation in the Russian-Ukrainian war and returns attention to the risk of supply disruptions in the oil market,” ANZ analysts said in a note to clients.
U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 4.75 million barrels in the week ended Nov. 15, market sources said on Tuesday, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute. This was a bigger increase than analysts had expected by 100,000 barrels.
However, gasoline stocks fell by 2.48 million barrels compared to analysts’ expectations for an increase of 900,000 barrels. Distillate stocks also fell by 688,000 barrels last week.
Official government data is due later on Wednesday.
With oil prices rising, there were signs that China, the world’s biggest crude importer, could increase its oil purchases this month after a period of weak imports.
Weak Chinese imports have weighed on oil prices this year, with Brent down 20% from an April peak of more than $92 a barrel.