Oil closes higher, with partial recovery a day after sharp fall

Oil futures contracts recorded gains on Thursday (8). The commodity recouped some of the losses of more than 5% from the previous session, with investors watching for signs of monetary policy on both sides of the Atlantic. In the sector, oil inventories in the US grew well above forecast in the last week.

October WTI crude closed up 1.95% ($1.60) at $83.54 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), and Brent for November advanced 1.31% ( US$1.15), at US$89.15 a barrel, on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).

Contracts were already rising earlier in the day. Although risks to demand, such as an eventual global recession, remain on the radar, yesterday’s sharp drop opened room for gains. In the morning, investors monitored the 75 basis points hike in interest rates by the European Central Bank (ECB), while the chairman of the Federal Reserve (Fed, the American central bank), Jerome Powell, reaffirmed the stance of acting to contain inflation in the USA.

On the indicator agenda, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that US oil inventories increased by 8.845 million barrels in the last week, when analysts had forecast a much smaller increase of 300 thousand.

Gasoline inventories grew by 333,000 barrels, contrary to the forecast for a decline, and the rate of utilization of refinery capacity fell, with average daily production stable. After the data, oil contracts continued to fluctuate in the same range.

Capital Economics assessed in a report that the rise in US inventories, the first in four weeks, was the result of a rise in imports, while exports retreated in the period. The consultancy believes, however, that inventories should “continue at still weak levels for some time”, especially as the release of inventories by the government should be gradually reduced in October.