Oil rising in price amid decrease in US stocks

Global oil prices on June 30 morning are growing on data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) on a decrease in crude reserves in the US, according to trading data, Report informs referring to Prime agency.

As of 9:01 (GMT+4), the price of September futures for the North Sea Brent oil blend grew 0.55 percent to $74.69, the price of August futures increased 0.41 percent to $75.07. August futures for WTI oil rose 0.74 percent to $73.52 per barrel.

The API reported that US crude stockpiles fell by 8.15 million barrels last week, adding to positive sentiment before OPEC+ meets on July 1. At the same time, analysts had expected a decline of only 4.46 million barrels. Official data from the US Department of Energy will be released on June 30. The indicator is forecast to decline by 4.7 million barrels.

In the first half of this year, the price of Brent crude rose 1.4 times, WTI - 1.5 times. This was the best growth in six months since 2009. In the second quarter, oil rose in price by 16-21 percent.

This strong growth was fueled by a recovery in crude demand amid the roll-out of coronavirus vaccines and the gradual lifting of travel restrictions in most countries. The market is also supported by the decisions of OPEC+ on a gradual increase in output, which, given the current growth rates of demand, gives rise to a lack of supply.

“We expect consumption to continue outstripping supply in the near term,” said Howie Lee, an economist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. in Singapore. “With more people getting vaccinated, demand worries driven by the virus should continue to diminish.”