Oil prices are falling, under pressure from Israeli restraint and US stocks

Closing priceOil prices ended sharply lower on Wednesday, driven by signs of restraint from Israel in its response to the Iranian attack, and by another unexpected rise in US crude inventories.

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The price of a barrel of Brent BRENT Brent, or North Sea crude, is a variant of crude oil that serves as a benchmark in Europe and is listed on the InterContinentalExchange (ICE), an exchange that specializes in energy trading. It became the first international standard for determining oil prices. from the North Sea for delivery in June decreased 3.03%to close $87.29.

The barrel West Texas Intermediate (WTI WTI West Texas Intermediate (WTI), also called Texas Light Sweet, is a variant of crude oil that serves as a standard in determining the price of crude oil and as a commodity for oil futures contracts with the Nymex (New York Mercantile Exchange). , the stock exchange specialized in energy.) American, due in May, relinquished to him 3.12%has $82.69.

The Black Gold has just recorded three consecutive sessions of decline since the Iranian air offensive on Israel on Saturday evening. Brent BRENT Brent, or North Sea crude, is a variant of crude oil that serves as a benchmark in Europe and is listed on the InterContinentalExchange (ICE), an exchange that specializes in energy trading. It became the first international standard for determining oil prices. and WTI WTI West Texas Intermediate (WTI), also called Texas Light Sweet, is a variant of crude oil that serves as a standard in determining the price of crude oil and as a commodity for oil futures contracts with the Nymex (New York Mercantile Exchange). , the stock exchange specialized in energy. fell again on Wednesday, at their lowest closing level for three weeks.

“The market had already priced in a major attack on Israel because Tehran had announced it“, explains Edoardo Campanella of UniCredit in a note. Furthermore: “he was reassured by the limited extent of the damage and by the diplomatic efforts (…) to prevent an escalation of tensions.“

In this context, the market turned on Wednesday after online media Axios reported that the Israeli government had considered greenlighting a response against Iran on Monday before giving up, according to John Kilduff, Again Capital.

After an Israeli War Cabinet meeting, officials told the Biden administration that the Jewish state preferred to wait to act, according to Axios.

“It appears that this episode will end without significant aftershocks, which would significantly reduce tensions in the region and in the oil market.John Kilduff responded.

Adding to this silence was the report from the American Energy Information Agency (EIA), which reported a fourth straight weekly increase in U.S. crude oil inventories, from 2.7 million barrels this time.

U.S. stocks nearly rose 15 million barrels net for the period.

Last week’s unexpected jump was largely due to a statistical adjustment, which made a positive contribution 8.1 million barrels addition to last week’s supply statistics.

Quite calm about supply, but at the moment the market is concerned about Chinese demand, which remains uncertain. “We continue to see mixed numbers”, underlines John Kilduff, who questions China’s economic health.

According to Sophie Lund-Yates of Hargreaves Lansdown, the recent decline in crude oil prices is also due to the prospect of an extension of the US central bank’s (Fed) aggressive monetary policy, which has failed to curb inflation. curb.

“This alleviates concerns about demand“, which usually suffers when interest rates are high, which is the case now.

(c) AFP

Remark Oil prices are falling, under pressure from Israeli restraint and US stocks

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