Crude oil prices remained largely unchanged today, after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported an inventory draw of a modest half a million barrels for the week to October 25.
At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading at $72.25 per barrel, with WTI at $68.29 per barrel.
The change in oil stocks compared with a build of 5.5 million barrels for the previous week, which pressured oil prices additionally at the time.
The American Petroleum Institute, meanwhile, on Tuesday reported estimated inventory draws across crude and fuels, helping prices move higher for a time, although they remained subdued on the back of expectations of a ceasefire in the Middle East.
In its weekly report, the EIA estimated inventory draws in gasoline and middle distillates.
Gasoline stocks shed 2.7 million barrels in the week to October 25, with production at an average 9.7 million barrels daily.
These figures compared with an inventory build of 900,000 barrels for the previous week, when production stood at an average of 10 million barrels daily.
In middle distillates, the authority estimated an inventory decline of 1 million barrels for last week, with production averaging 4.9 million barrels daily.
These compared with a stock draw of 1.1 million barrels for the previous week, when production stood at an average 5 million barrels daily.
Oil prices, meanwhile, started the week depressed and remained depressed despite several short-lived jumps. The biggest factor, according to analysts, is the prospect of a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated Tel Aviv may be open to an end of the hostilities.
Not everyone agrees the ceasefire is a done deal, however, with Standard Chartered analysts warning that the possibility for new escalation in the region was still very much present, especially in the next couple of months until the inauguration of the next U.S. president.
In other news, Beijing is set to unveil more fiscal stimulus but its size suggests it would serve to prop up rather than boost the country’s economy, which means oil traders would probably brush it off.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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