WTI Slides Under $41/bbl, Expect Bunkers to Fall Further

by Mohammed Marzuq, KPI Bridge Oil
Wednesday August 19, 2015

Crude futures took a heavy blow today on unexpected EIA data which stated U.S. crude inventories saw a build of 2.6 million barrels last week.

WTI front month contracts for September were down over 4% settling at $40.80 per barrel.

Brent contracts for October delivery were beat down $1.65 per barrel settling at $47.16.

Weakening demand in the Far East coupled with increasing U.S. imports have really supported todays prices.

It should be taken into consideration that there will be a lot of pressure on crude oil in the following weeks.

We have yet to come out of the summer driving season which will hamper refinery output rates, ultimately increasing U.S inventories.

Furthermore, U.S rig counts have slowly been increasing week after week signifying that western producers are still operable at the current market state.

With OPEC continually trying to capitalize on its market share it will be difficult to expect the market to firm in the long run.

Bunkers were very soft today across the board and we can expect them to continue falling.