OPEC+ Cuts May Tighten Oil Supplies
August 23, 2023
The average estimates for today’s DOE inventory report from the Bloomberg survey is for crude oil inventories to be down 2.873 million barrels, gasoline inventories down 716,000, and distillates up 567,000.
The API report released yesterday estimated crude oil down 2.4 million barrels, gasoline up 150,000, and distillates up 1.9 million barrels.
Tanker data from trade and industry sources showed that India’s crude oil imports in July from Russia fell for the first time in nine months, while inbound shipments from Saudi Arabia fell to their lowest in 2 ½ years following OPEC+ cuts.
The energy markets were lower in yesterday’s trading as their appears to more support from the data that China’s oil demand and economic growth are lower. The battle between supply and demand continue to befuddle traders.
Bloomberg reports OPEC+ cuts should be tightening supplies and demand worries from China worry traders, but an analyst at Julius Baer Group Ltd., said this week: “The oil market is just about adequately supplied, and the much-awaited tightening is still pending.” The debate has swayed in recent weeks on whether the market’s foil was supply or demand. The answer now appears to be both.
The estimate for today’s propane inventory update is calling for stocks to be up 2.06 million barrels.