Mid-Week Review – June 8, 2022
Summary by Noah Young
Oil prices advance despite U.S. inventory rise
Oil prices rose on Wednesday, despite a likely rise in U.S. oil stocks, on the easing of Chinese COVID-19 related lockdowns and a possible strike by Norwegian oil workers. Brent crude futures were up $1.19, or 1%, at $121.76 a barrel at 1325 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $120.37 a barrel, up 96 cents, or 0.8%. “Despite the API report showing builds for crude and oil products, oil prices are higher, supported by expectation of China easing the COVID restrictions, translating in higher demand and imports this summer,” UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.
Why US gas prices are at a record, and why they’ll stay high for a long time
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a major reason that US drivers are paying record prices for gasoline. But it’s not the only cause of the spike. Numerous factors are pushing prices up, with regular gasoline hitting a record $4.87 a gallon Monday according to AAA’s survey — up 25 cents a gallon in just the last week. Gas prices were already expected to breach the $4 a gallon mark for the first time since 2008, with or without shots fired in Eastern Europe or economic sanctions imposed on Russia. But now the national average is expected to hit $5 a gallon within the next two weeks, said Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis for the OPIS, which tracks gas prices for AAA.
Upward Pressure On Oil Prices Is Only Going To Increase
Merely a couple of days after OPEC+ sped up the pace of production increases, Saudi Aramco hiked its July formula prices for Asian buyers to higher-than-expected levels, stoking concerns that supply might be lower than expected.
US gas prices hit fresh high of nearly $5 a gallon as UK sees record equivalent to $8.60
US gas prices hit a fresh all-time high Wednesday, according to AAA. Drivers are paying $4.95 on average at the pump, a 15% jump from May. Domestic gas prices are up 62% from a year ago. The Biden administration has struggled to reign in soaring gas prices, and the national average jumped from $4.91 to $4.95 from Tuesday to Wednesday morning. Even as Biden ordered the release of 180 million barrels of reserve of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in March, prices have only edged higher as Russia’s war on Ukraine has pushed up global prices amid sanctions and embargoes on Russian supply from the west.
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