Blog

Crude prices slipped lower today (along with everything else around 10amET ish), but never recovered (unlike stocks), as  traders weighed prospects for a ceasefire in Gaza against ongoing risks to oil supplies in the Middle East.

Additionally,a s MT Newswires reports, in its influential monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook, the Energy Information Administration lowered its 2024 demand-growth forecast to 0.95-million barrels per day, even as it raised its estimate for actual demand to 102.65-million bpd from its March estimate of 102.17-million bpd after revising its estimate of 2022 demand up by 0.8-million bpd.

Expectations ahead of the API print were for a third straight weekly build in crude stocks (though only marginal)…

API

• Crude +3.03mm (+800k exp)

• Cushing +124k

• Gasoline -609k (-1.4mm exp)

• Distillates +120k (-600k exp)

Crude stocks rose for the third straight week but gasoline stocks drew down once again…

Source: Bloomberg

WTI was hovering around $85.35 ahead of the API print and inched lower on the build…

Meanwhile, pump-prices continue to rise, as we expected, tracking wholesale gasoline prices higher…

Source: Bloomberg

…not exactly painting an optimistic picture for tomorrow's CPI print with the highest pump-prices in six-months…

Source: Bloomberg

But hey, Bostic said everything would be fine, right? Right!