Oil prices are declining on Thursday morning after an increase in the previous session.
Investors are assessing the actions of the Federal Reserve and data on fuel reserves in the U.S., writes Trading Economics.
Quotes for May futures on Brent at London’s ICE Futures Exchange totaled $76.08 per barrel as of 7:02 a.m., down $0.61 (0.8%) from the close of the previous session. Those contracts rose $1.37 (1.8%) to $76.69 a barrel on Wednesday.
The price of WTI futures for May oil at NYMEX fell by $0.74 (1.04%) to $70.16 per barrel on Thursday morning. The contract value grew by $1.23 (1.8%) to $70.9 a barrel at the end of previous session.
U.S. commercial oil inventories rose 1.12 million barrels to 481.18 million last week, the Energy Department’s weekly report showed. That’s the most since May 2021.
Meanwhile, gasoline reserves fell 6.4 million barrels and distillates fell 3.31 million barrels.
Analysts had expected oil reserves to fall by 5.5 million barrels, gasoline by 2 million barrels and distillates by 1.3 million barrels, according to the S&P Global Commodity survey.
The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points at the end of Wednesday’s meeting. Its range is now 4.75-5% per year – the highest since September 2007. The decision coincided with the forecasts of most economists and analysts.
Meanwhile, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said he did not expect any rate cuts this year. At the same time, he admitted that if inflation proves too stable, the rate could be raised more than currently expected.
