Oil Prices Rose Despite Surprising Rise In U.S. Inventories

Oil prices slightly increased in Wednesday trading on December 9, backed by hopes of a rise in fuel demand after the end of the pandemic. The optimistic mood led to the onset of coronavirus vaccination in the UK and to the trust in the rapid certification of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines in the United States and the European Union. At the same time, the upward dynamics of oil prices could not be reversed by data on a serious rise in oil reserves in the United States.

January WTI crude futures at $45.52 per barrel were up 0.2 percent, while February Brent crude futures at $48.86 have added 0.04 percent on the day.

The anticipation of an early end to the pandemic as a result of the availability of successful vaccines against coronavirus is the main factor currently deciding the mood in the oil market. So in the UK, the adult vaccination process has already begun, which could become the largest in the history of the world. In total, the United Kingdom has requested 40 million doses of the vaccine, and 800,000 doses are expected to be used in the first few weeks. It is also expected that a Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine produced in the United States will be approved today. Once approved by the FDA, the vaccine will begin delivery within the next 24 hours.

However the data released by the EIA Agency yesterday on oil reserves in the United States was quite disappointing. Crude oil inventories in the United States rose by 15.189 million barrels in the week ended December 4, which was the highest value since April of this year and was considerably worse than anticipated at a cut of -1.424 million barrels. A fourth straight week of rises was also seen in gasoline inventories, with an increase of 4.222 million barrels compared to the consensus estimate of 2.271 million barrels. The EIA numbers had only a short-term effect on oil price dynamics and a few hours later, the prices had completely recovered.