Oil closes lower as US inventories rise

Oil futures closed lower on Wednesday (14) after the United States Department of Energy (DoE) revealed an increase in stocks of the commodity in the US.

The result reversed the brief momentum that the commodity displayed after the US consumer price index (CPI) in line with expectations reinforced expectations for a Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate cut.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), WTI oil for September closed down 1.75% (US$ 1.37), at US$ 76.98 a barrel, while Brent for October, traded on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), fell 1.15% (US$ 0.93), at US$ 79.76 a barrel.

Consumer price indexes (CPI) slowed to an annual rate of 2.9% in July, the Labor Department reported this morning. The indicator suggests a continuing disinflationary trend and should encourage Fed rate cuts in September, according to Capital Economics.

With the risk environment improving, oil prices rose modestly shortly after the indicator was released. However, the negative signal returned and losses deepened after the DoE reported an unexpected increase of 1.357 million barrels in US stocks of the commodity.

Oanda explains that rising inventories are putting downward pressure on prices, while there is growing concern about declining demand from global airlines.

Jet fuel, which accounts for about 7% of global demand, could boost demand as travel continues to recover after the pandemic, but a potential slowdown in economic activity could further reduce demand for air travel.

According to the analysis, these factors point to lower oil prices, but geopolitical risks and technical factors could limit this decline.

Source: CNN Brasil

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