Oil Prices Dip on Surging US Inventories and Recovering Gulf Exports
Oil prices dropped by 1% on Thursday as recovering crude exports from the Gulf and a surprise rise in US inventories eased supply concerns. The Brent crude futures fell 1.1% to $96.92 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 1.4% to $89.18 a barrel.
Saudi Arabia resumed oil tanker loadings from Yanbu after earlier restarting operations on its East-West Pipeline. Meanwhile, US crude inventories rose by 922,000 barrels to 427.3 million barrels in the week ended September 25, exceeding expectations of a 264,000-barrel draw.
Sugandha Sachdeva, founder of SS WealthStreet, attributed oil's near-term bias as negative due to recovering shipments from the Gulf region and a buildup in US inventories. Renewed US-Iran diplomatic engagement may further reduce geopolitical risk premium, although a breakthrough remains uncertain, according to Sachdeva.