Oil prices ended a 7% rout today as production problems at two major refineries in the United States rekindled worries over gasoline supplies at the height of summer vacation season.
US crude for August delivery, which expires Thursday, rose 42 cents to $73.08 a barrel while London Brent for September delivery slipped 18 cents to $73.72.
Both benchmarks for global oil prices had been in a dive since last week that deepened yesterday after the US government reported surprise builds in stockpiles of crude and gasoline. US oil's push higher came after leading North American refiner Valero Energy Corp. announced it shut a gasoline-making unit at its St. Charles, Louisiana, refinery for 20 days for unplanned repairs. ConocoPhillips, meanwhile, said it shut its big Wood River refinery in Roxana, Illinois, because of a power outage caused by severe storms.
The energy markets tend to focus on gasoline during the summer months when US drivers take to the roads for vacations, bumping up demand for the fuel to seasonal peaks.
US oil has dropped from the record $78.40 hit last week. Government data Wednesday showed US inventories of gasoline rose by 1.5 million barrels and crude stocks climbed 0.2 million barrels due to strong imports, counter to expectations of a decline. But the data also showed that four-week average US gasoline demand, which accounts for more than a tenth of the world's total consumption of oil, had risen 1.9% from a year ago.
The market shrugged off comments from Iran, which repeated its determination to produce atomic fuel in defiance of international calls to halt the work. The world's fourth largest oil exporter said it wanted to resolve the dispute diplomatically and was still reviewing a package of nuclear proposals backed by six nations.
US crude for August delivery, which expires Thursday, rose 42 cents to $73.08 a barrel while London Brent for September delivery slipped 18 cents to $73.72.
Both benchmarks for global oil prices had been in a dive since last week that deepened yesterday after the US government reported surprise builds in stockpiles of crude and gasoline. US oil's push higher came after leading North American refiner Valero Energy Corp. announced it shut a gasoline-making unit at its St. Charles, Louisiana, refinery for 20 days for unplanned repairs. ConocoPhillips, meanwhile, said it shut its big Wood River refinery in Roxana, Illinois, because of a power outage caused by severe storms.
The energy markets tend to focus on gasoline during the summer months when US drivers take to the roads for vacations, bumping up demand for the fuel to seasonal peaks.
US oil has dropped from the record $78.40 hit last week. Government data Wednesday showed US inventories of gasoline rose by 1.5 million barrels and crude stocks climbed 0.2 million barrels due to strong imports, counter to expectations of a decline. But the data also showed that four-week average US gasoline demand, which accounts for more than a tenth of the world's total consumption of oil, had risen 1.9% from a year ago.
The market shrugged off comments from Iran, which repeated its determination to produce atomic fuel in defiance of international calls to halt the work. The world's fourth largest oil exporter said it wanted to resolve the dispute diplomatically and was still reviewing a package of nuclear proposals backed by six nations.
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