Oil prices rose by almost 1.5% as escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine offset the impact of the latest data on U.S. oil reserves.
Experts said that the risk for oil is that Ukraine will target the Russian energy infrastructure. However, uncertainty remains about how Russia will respond to the latest attacks.
Meanwhile, oil consumption rebounded last week due to improved travel demand in the United States and India, while India also recorded a significant increase in industrial demand. According to JPMorgan estimates, in the first 19 days of November, global oil demand reached 103.6 million barrels per day, an increase of 1.7 million barrels per day compared to the same period in 2023.
Some pressure on the oil market was exerted by the news that in the week ended November 15, oil reserves in the United States increased by 545,000 barrels, while analysts expected an increase of 138,000 barrels. U.S. crude oil inventories remain about 4% below the five-year average for this time of year. The report also showed that gasoline inventories rose by 2.1 million barrels last week but are about 4% below the five-year average for this time of year. Meanwhile, distillate fuel inventories, which include heating oil and diesel, edged down by 0.1 million barrels and are about 4% below the five-year average for this time of year.
Also in focus were reports that OPEC+ may again postpone an increase in oil production at its next meeting (December 1) due to weak global oil demand. OPEC+ had initially planned to gradually reverse production cuts with minor increases spread over several months in 2024 and 2025.