On February 15, international oil prices fell slightly. As of the close, the main contract of WTI crude oil futures fell $0.47/barrel, or 0.59%, to $78.59/barrel; the main contract of Brent crude oil futures fell $0.20/barrel, or 0.23%, to $85.38/barrel.
On February 14, data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that as of February 10, U.S. commercial crude oil inventories were 471.4 million barrels, a sharp increase of 16.3 million barrels from the previous month, far exceeding market expectations and hitting the record high in March 2021. Biggest weekly gain ever.On the same day, the Biden administration announced that it would release an additional 26 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), with deliveries expected between April and June
The Federal Reserve is likely to extend its hawkish stance as U.S. crude inventories surged far more than expected, raising concerns about weak fuel demand and the prospect of a recession, while OPEC remains optimistic about fuel demand this year. Just a day earlier, OPEC raised its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2023 by 100,000 barrels per day.
Ignore the drop in oil prices! OPEC raised its forecast for global oil demand growth. Click on the video to see it!