The price of oil has barely changed, while investors weighed demand concerns following a surprise US crude inventory build against worries about geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, the negative dynamics of the US currency provided little support for oil. The US Dollar Currency Index (DXY), which tracks the dynamics of the dollar against six currencies (euro, swiss franc, yen, canadian dollar, pound sterling and swedish krona) fell by 0.08% to 102.33.
Yesterday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that oil inventories increased by 2.909 million barrels last week. This was the first increase in the last three weeks. Analysts had expected a reduction in inventories by 2.3 million barrels. The data also showed that U.S. crude output rose to a record 13.3 million barrels per day last week. U.S. crude oil imports averaged 6.8 million barrels per day last week, increased by 233 thousand barrels per day from the previous week. Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged about 6.7 million barrels per day, 7.6% more than the same four-week period last year.
The situation in the Red Sea also remains in the focus of investors' attention. Almost 12% of global trade goes through the Red Sea and more than 100 container ships are currently taking the long route around Africa due to the fear of attacks. Meanwhile, the Iran-backed militant group warned it would retaliate if the US carries out attacks on its bases in Yemen. However, the impact on oil supply has been limited so far, analysts said, because the bulk of Middle East crude is exported via the Strait of Hormuz.