Oil prices rise after the collapse the day before

On Thursday, oil prices continued to recover after yesterday's fall from $108.40 to $100.20 per barrel. The current Brent quote is $102.80 per barrel. The cost of North American WTI oil is $97.94 (daily low at $95.50). 

Yesterday's decline in quotations was caused by data from the US Department of Energy on an unexpected increase in reserves and information about plans to release raw materials from strategic reserves by the countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA). In particular, the IEA countries agreed to release 60 million barrels in addition to the 180 million barrels that the United States intends to provide.

Statistics from the Ministry of Energy showed an unexpected increase in oil reserves in the country last week by 2.42 million barrels. Analysts on average expected a decline of 2.8 million barrels. Stocks at the terminal in Cushing, where NYMEX-traded oil is stored, increased by 1.7 million barrels. Oil production in the United States increased by 100 thousand barrels per day compared to last week – up to 11.8 million b/d.

Prices are supported today by the situation in China, where quarantine measures that restrain the spread of Covid-19 remain. According to consulting companies, due to restrictions in ports off the coast of China, tankers with about 22 million barrels of oil from Russia, Iran and Venezuela have accumulated.