Oil prices continued to decline on Wednesday, reaching a level below $81 per barrel for the first time since July. Pressure on the market was exerted by the forecasts of the US Department of Energy, suggesting a reduction in demand for gasoline in the country in 2024 to the lowest level in 20 years. The Ministry of Energy has worsened the forecast of the cost of Brent for the current year to $83.99 per barrel from $84.09 per barrel, for 2024 – to $93.24 per barrel from $94.91. The estimate for WTI for next year was lowered by 1.8% compared to the October forecast – to $89.24 per barrel. The current Brent quote is $81.37 per barrel. North American WTI crude is trading at $76.94 after falling to $80.26 per barrel. Pressure on the market was also exerted by data from the American Petroleum Institute (API), which showed a sharp jump in oil reserves in the United States last week – by 11.9 million barrels. Such growth rates are the highest since the first week of 2023. Official data on energy reserves from the Ministry of Energy will not be published this week. The Agency postponed the release of this information due to the planned modernization of information systems. The next report on stocks in the States will be released on November 15.
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