Bad weather affects U.S. crude oil production capacity International oil prices rose significantly

Roundup: Bad weather affects U.S. crude oil production capacity International oil prices have risen significantly

Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Yanan

Affected by the decline in US commercial crude oil inventories exceeding market expectations, the international crude oil futures price rose significantly on the 15th and has reached the highest level since the end of July.

As of the close of the day, light crude futures for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $2.15, or 3.05 percent, to close at $72.61 a barrel; Brent crude futures for November delivery rose $1.86 to close at $75.46 a barrel, or 2.53 percent.

Data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on the 15th showed that U.S. commercial crude oil inventories last week were 417.4 million barrels, down 6.4 million barrels from the previous month, exceeding market expectations. At the same time, the U.S. crude oil industry has still not recovered from the impact of Hurricane Ada. According to the U.S. Bureau of Security and Environmental Enforcement, nearly 40 percent of offshore crude oil and natural gas capacity in the Gulf of Mexico is still shut down. In addition, U.S. refinery operating rates are still far from returning to pre-hurricane levels.

Matt Smith, head of commodities research at The U.S. Clipper Data Company, said that the U.S. Gulf Coast is struggling to recover from the hurricane shock, and the scale of crude oil production and smelting processing is difficult to effectively recover in the short term.

Francisco Blanche, head of commodities and derivatives research at Bank of America, believes that international crude oil prices have been in a state of range volatility since the end of June this year due to the lack of demand for refined oil products, but as prices such as natural gas and coal continue to rise, crude oil prices have begun to accumulate upward momentum.

Blanche analyzed that the recovery of global crude oil demand and the significant decline in crude oil inventories in major developed countries will bring further support to international oil prices. He judged that the possibility of international oil prices rising in the second half of the year is continuing to increase, especially once this winter is much colder than normal, global average daily crude oil demand may increase by 1 million barrels to 2 million barrels, which is likely to continue to push up oil prices.

Analysts also said that there are twists and turns in cooperation between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency, affecting market expectations for the United States and Iran to reach an agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue, and also supporting the rise in international oil prices.

Source: Xinhua News Agency