Commodity Market: US Crude Oil holds gains after a sharper-than-expected drop in US oil stocks

Futures on US West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil remained mostly steady on Thursday, following a 3% surge in the previous session that came after a sharper-than-expected drop in US crude oil inventories.

Refiners in the US Gulf area and offshore oil facilities were still in a process of recovery from Category-4 Hurricane Ida, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.

The official report by the EIA showed yesterday that gasoline inventories had decreased by 1.858 million barrels during the week ended September 10th. In comparison, analysts on average had anticipated a drop by 1.957 million barrels.

At the same time, US crude oil inventories decreased by 6.422 million barrels to 417.4 million barrels during the week ended September 10th, while marking a sixth straight period of decline. Analysts on average had anticipated a much smaller drop – by 3.544 million barrels.

“The data follow warnings from the International Energy Agency that supply lost from storms in the Gulf of Mexico would offset gains from OPEC,” ANZ Research analysts wrote in an investor note, cited by Reuters.

Yet, energy companies in the US Gulf have been able to swiftly restore pipeline service and electricity after another hurricane, Nicholas, moved through Texas and Louisiana, causing minor flooding and power outages.

However, some refineries remained offline in the wake of Hurricane Ida. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said that, as of Wednesday, some 30% of US Gulf output had remained shut.

As of 8:05 GMT on Thursday WTI Crude Oil Futures were inching down 0.04% to trade at $72.58 per barrel, while moving within a daily range of $72.36-$72.99 per barrel. Yesterday the black liquid climbed as high as $73.14 per barrel, which has been its strongest price level since August 2nd ($73.95 per barrel). WTI Crude Oil Futures have risen 5.94% so far in September, following a 7.37% drop in August.

At the same time, Brent Oil Futures were inching down 0.07% on the day to trade at $75.43 per barrel, while moving within a daily range of $75.24-$75.86 per barrel. Yesterday the commodity climbed as high as $76.10 per barrel, which has been its strongest price level since July 29th ($76.12 per barrel). Brent Oil Futures have risen 5.05% so far in September, following a 4.63% drop in August.

Daily Pivot Levels (traditional method of calculation) – WTI Crude Oil Futures

Central Pivot – $72.13
R1 – $73.62
R2 – $74.62
R3 – $76.11
R4 – $77.59

S1 – $71.13
S2 – $69.64
S3 – $68.64
S4 – $67.63

Daily Pivot Levels (traditional method of calculation) – Brent Oil Futures

Central Pivot – $75.13
R1 – $76.45
R2 – $77.43
R3 – $78.75
R4 – $80.08

S1 – $74.15
S2 – $72.83
S3 – $71.85
S4 – $70.88