Oil prices remained in the red on Wednesday after the publication of the US Department of Energy’s weekly report on energy reserves in the country.
Commercial oil inventories in the US last week increased by 3.46 million barrels to 415.13 million barrels, the Energy Department reported. Gasoline stocks increased by 2.96 million barrels, distillate stocks decreased by 4.99 million barrels.
The cost of March futures for Brent on the London ICE Futures exchange as of 18:00 hours is $77.3 per barrel, which is $0.19 (0.25%) lower than at the close of the previous trading.
March futures for WTI during trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) decreased in price by $0.36 (0.49%) to $73.41 per barrel.
Traders’ attention is still focused on the actions of US President Donald Trump, who intends to impose a 25 percent duty on imports from Canada, a major supplier of oil to the US market, starting February 1.
“The oil market continues to dance to the rhythm of Trump’s tariff orchestra, with the focus on the duties for Canada that will take effect this Saturday,” said Ole Hansen, who is responsible for commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.
Traders are also waiting for news from OPEC+. Kazakhstan’s Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliyev said on Wednesday that a meeting at the level of OPEC+ representatives is planned in the near future to discuss, among other things, the US plans to increase oil production.
Ukrnafta PJSC produced 1.170 billion cubic meters of gas in 2024, which is 6.5% more than in 2023 (1.097 billion cubic meters) and 1.418 million tons of oil, which is 0.6% more than in the previous year (1.410 million tons). According to the company’s press release on Thursday, production growth in oil equivalent in 2024 amounted to an additional 70.5 thousand tons of hydrocarbons, or 3%: 2.42 million tons against 2.35 million tons in 2023.
“Despite prolonged power outages that limited mechanized oil production, the company managed not only to compensate for the natural decline but also to ensure an increase in oil and gas volumes,” said Sergiy Koretsky, Ukrnafta’s CEO, as quoted in the press release. He added that the company has been improving its production figures for the second year in a row.
According to the company, in 2025, Ukrnafta will continue to drill new wells, upgrade equipment, replacing Soviet equipment with modern and technological equipment from world leaders, and intensify production.
“Ukrnafta is Ukraine’s largest oil producer and operator of the national network of gas stations. In March 2024, the company took over the management of Glusco assets and operates 547 filling stations – 462 owned and 85 managed.
The company is implementing a comprehensive program to restore operations and update the format of its filling stations. Since February 2023, the company has been issuing its own fuel coupons and NAFTAKarta cards, which are sold to legal entities and individuals through Ukrnafta-Postach LLC.
“Ukrnafta holds 92 special permits for commercial development of fields. It has 1832 oil and 154 gas production wells on its balance sheet.
Ukrnafta’s largest shareholder is Naftogaz of Ukraine with a 50%+1 share.
In November 2022, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine decided to transfer to the state a share of corporate rights of the company owned by private owners, which is currently managed by the Ministry of Defense.
In 2024, Ukraine transported about 11.36 million tons of Russian oil through the southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline, reducing transit by 16% compared to last year.
“This is the lowest value at least since 2014, and probably in the entire history of Ukraine’s independence since 1991,” former Energy Minister Olha Buslavets posted on Facebook late last week.
According to her, most of the Russian oil in 2024 was supplied to Hungary – more than 4.7 million tons, which is almost the same as in 2023. In addition, 3.9 million tons of oil were transported to Slovakia (-15%) and 2.7 million tons (-35%) to the Czech Republic.
As reported, in July 2024, Ukraine tightened sanctions against Russia’s LUKOIL, effectively banning the transit of oil to Central Europe through the Ukrainian section of the Druzhba pipeline. The company was a major supplier of raw materials to both Hungary (about a third of the country’s imports) and Slovakia (40-45%).
At the same time, in September, the Hungarian MOL Group announced an agreement with Russian oil suppliers and pipeline operators to ensure its transportation via the Druzhba pipeline through Belarus and Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia. According to MOL Group, the company has taken over ownership of the relevant volumes of crude oil on the border of Belarus and Ukraine.
Also in September, EC spokesman Olof Gill said that after Ukraine banned LUKOIL’s oil transit to Hungary and Slovakia, the European Commission (EC) quickly took all necessary steps to resolve the issue. He noted that LUKOIL is not the only oil supplier to Hungary and Slovakia.
Oil prices rose in pre-holiday trading on Tuesday, recovering the losses incurred the day before.
The cost of February futures for Brent on the London ICE Futures exchange rose by $0.95 (1.3%) to $73.58 per barrel.
February futures for WTI on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) rose by $0.86 (1.2%) to $70.1 per barrel.
Media reports that China may issue special treasury bonds worth a record 3 trillion yuan ($411 billion) in 2025 to raise funds to support the national economy have encouraged oil traders. China is one of the world’s largest oil importers and consumers.
Quotes continue to be supported by concerns about geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, as well as the prospect of tighter sanctions against Russia and Iran.
Meanwhile, expectations of an oversupply of crude oil amid unclear demand prospects and a stronger US dollar are having a restraining effect on oil prices, making commodities less attractive.
The market was evaluating the latest statements by US President-elect Donald Trump, who threatened to restore Washington’s control over the Panama Canal if the fee for passage through it is not reduced, and was also waiting for official data on commercial oil reserves in the US, which will be published this week with a delay due to the holidays.
“We can assume that WTI will trade around the $70 mark until Friday, when the late weekly report from the Energy Information Administration is released, which will set additional price targets,” Ritterbusch said in a research note.
On Wednesday, exchanges in the US, UK, Germany, France and other European countries, as well as Hong Kong, South Korea and Australia, are closed for Christmas. Many sites will remain closed on Thursday.
Oil prices are rising on Monday amid weak trading activity before the Christmas holidays.
On Wednesday, stock exchanges in the US, UK, Germany, France and other European countries, as well as Hong Kong, South Korea and Australia, will be closed for Christmas. Many sites will remain closed on Thursday as well.
The cost of February futures for Brent on the London ICE Futures exchange as of 7:20 a.m. is $73.27 per barrel, which is $0.33 (0.45%) higher than at the close of the previous trading. On Friday, these contracts fell by $0.06 (0.1%) to $72.94 per barrel.
Futures for WTI for February in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) have risen in price by this time by $0.38 (0.55%) to $69.84 per barrel. At the end of the previous session, the value of these contracts increased by $0.08 (0.1%) to $69.46 per barrel.
Last week, Brent fell by 2.1%, WTI – by 1.9%.
On Monday, traders are evaluating the statements of US President-elect Donald Trump, who demanded that the Panama Canal Authority reduce the fee for the passage of ships through this waterway. Otherwise, Washington may regain control of this facility, Trump said.
“Trump’s threats and rhetoric in the international arena are mostly just noise for the oil markets at the moment,” said Vanda Hari, founder of Vanda Insights in Singapore. – “Given the low trading activity and the lack of strong market signals, I expect the sideways trend to continue until the end of the year.
Experts at Haitong Futures, whose review was cited by The Wall Street Journal on Monday, note that the US statistics released on Friday showed a weaker-than-expected increase in the Federal Reserve’s key inflation indicator (PCE index). This somewhat eased investors’ fears of a sharp slowdown in the pace of policy easing by the US Central Bank, Haitong said in a review.
Oil prices are rising on Monday after a significant decline last week.
The cost of February futures for Brent on the London ICE Futures exchange as of 7:25 a.m. is $72.2 per barrel, which is $0.36 (0.5%) higher than at the close of the previous trading. On Friday, these contracts fell by $0.94 (1.3%) to $71.84 per barrel.
January futures for WTI in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) have risen in price by this time by $0.37 (0.54%) to $68.37 per barrel. At the end of the previous session, the value of these contracts decreased by $0.72 (1.1%) to $68 per barrel.
Last week, Brent fell by 3%, WTI – by 4.6%.
On Monday, the market was supported by positive statistics from China published last weekend.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) in China’s manufacturing industry increased to 50.3 points in November from 50.1 points a month earlier, according to the country’s State Statistical Office (SSO). Thus, the indicator reached a seven-month high. A PMI reading above 50 points indicates an increase in activity in the industrial sector, while a reading below 50 points indicates a decline. The indicator has been above this level for two months.
Traders’ attention is now focused on the OPEC+ Ministerial Monitoring Committee meeting and the ministerial meeting, which were postponed from December 1 to December 5. The reason for the postponement was the participation of several ministers in the Kuwaiti summit.
Earlier, Bloomberg reported that the key OPEC+ countries have begun discussions about a possible further postponement of the oil production increase scheduled for January. According to the agency, the countries doubt that the market situation allows them to increase production in January and may postpone these plans for several months.
