Oil prices are showing downward on the financial markets. The trend is driven by industry data which showed crude oil inventories rose more than expected. Fears about a resumption of Covid-19 cases in China, the main importer of crude oil, also affect prices. The fear is that a resurgence of the virus in the Asian country could damage the demand for oil.
So in the morning, futures on Brent fell by almost one percentage point to 94.72 dollars a barrel. Similar trend also for WTI crude oil futures which reached 88 dollars in the area, below the 90 dollars ceiling and far from the peak of the last 12 months which had been recorded in the 130 dollar area per barrel (for European Brent the peak last year had been scored at $ 133).
More specifically, crude oil inventories in the United States increased by about 5.6 million barrels in the week ending November 4, according to market sources citing data from the American Petroleum Institute, while seven analysts interviewed by Reuters estimate on average an increase in crude oil inventories of around 1.4 million barrels.
At the same time, over the weekend, Beijing health officials said they will stick to the “dynamic zero-Covid” strategy for new infections. This decision staves off hopes for a relaxation of anti-virus measures. Cases of Covid-19 in Guangzhou and other Chinese cities have skyrocketed, so much so that today millions of residents were required to undergo tests for Covid-19.