Stockpiles of crude, along with gasoline and distillate fuels rose sharply last week as more oil heads into storage due to weak demand induced by the coronavirus pandemic, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Crude inventories rose by 15 million barrels in the week to April 17 to 518.6 million barrels, putting them within striking distance of an all-time record of 535 million barrels set in 2017. Inventories are expected to keep rising, due to weak overall demand and an [Read more]
Oil prices recover ground after market turmoil fuels price plunge
Oil prices found some respite on Wednesday as U.S. oil futures rose more than 20% and Brent prices steadied after a two-day price plunge, as markets struggle with a massive crude glut amid the coronavirus outbreak. After falling into negative territory for the first time in history amid record trading volumes, U.S. crude futures rose 20% as contracts for May delivery expired and the June contract became the front month. West Texas Intermediate was up $1.37, or 10.51%, at $14.40 a [Read more]
Ships, trains, caves: Oil traders chase storage space in world awash with fuel
Oil traders are struggling to find enough ships, railcars, caverns and pipelines to store fuel as more conventional storage facilities fill up amid abundant supply and plummeting demand due to the coronavirus crisis. Dozens of oil tanker vessels have been booked in recent days to store at least 30 million barrels of jet fuel, gasoline and diesel at sea, acting as floating storage, as on-land tanks are full or already booked, according to traders and shipping data. That adds to about 130 [Read more]
No vacancy: Main U.S. oil storage in Cushing is spoken for
Official U.S. government data shows that storage at the key crude oil hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, was just 70% full as of mid-April. Traders say that is bunk - because whatever is left is spoken for by firms sending oil to the hub right now. Oil prices have crashed this year, with the current U.S. contract falling into negative territory, due to millions of barrels of supply around the globe hitting markets at a time when the coronavirus pandemic means people are not flying on planes or driving [Read more]
Crude claws back into positive territory but historic crash spooks investors
U.S. crude oil bounced back into positive territory on Tuesday, after a historic plunge below zero that shocked investors and pushed down stock prices and Asian currencies. Futures for May delivery of West Texas Intermediate rose nearly $39 but were still just $1.76 a barrel, after a storage squeeze and collapsing fuel demand crushed prices to eye-popping lows. The contract expired at the end of trade on Tuesday, which pushed investors to clear them from their books at any price, and June [Read more]
A hunt for any storage space turns urgent as oil glut grows
The telephone lines have been ringing at Adler Tank Rentals in Texas as oil companies found a new use for steel tanks that had been left idle when shale producers stopped drilling - they want to use the tanks to store some of an oil glut that has overwhelmed the market and flipped U.S. crude prices negative for the first time. Hundreds of millions of barrels of crude have gushed into storage worldwide in the past two months as the coronavirus-related lockdowns wiped out around a third of [Read more]
Oil crashes, ends negative for the first time in history
U.S. crude oil futures turned negative on Monday for the first time in history, ending the day at a stunning minus $37.63 a barrel as traders sold heavily because of rapidly filling storage space at the key Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery point. Brent crude, the international benchmark, also slumped, but that contract was nowhere near as weak because more storage is available worldwide. The May U.S. WTI contract fell $55.9, or 306%, to settle at a discount of $37.63 a barrel after touching an [Read more]
U.S. crude futures turn negative for first time on scant storage, weak demand
U.S. crude oil futures turned negative on Monday for the first time in history as storage space was filling up, discouraging buyers as weak economic data from Germany and Japan cast doubt on when fuel consumption will recover. Physical demand for crude has dried up, creating a global supply glut as billions of people stay home to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. The May U.S. WTI contract fell $19.06, or 104.3%, to a discount of 79 cents a barrel at 2:09 p.m (1809 GMT) after [Read more]
Traders play ‘hot potato’ with U.S. oil contract as it crashes to $1 a barrel
Energy traders bailed out of the expiring May U.S. oil futures contract in a frenzy on Monday, sending the contract to a record of almost $1 a barrel, as few buyers are willing to take delivery of actual physical barrels of oil because there is no place to put the crude. May U.S. crude futures hit a low of $1.02 and were lately down $16.47 to $1.80 a barrel, a 90% drop. With demand down 30% worldwide due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the main U.S. storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma [Read more]
Enbridge won’t ration Mainline deliveries as oil cuts mount
Pipeline operator Enbridge Inc said on Monday it would not ration June deliveries on North America’s biggest oil pipeline network, the Mainline, as Canada’s oil producers step up production curtailments to cope with low prices. The notice by Enbridge shows pipeline congestion that has played a role in the deep discounting of Canadian crude is easing as producers shut in production to cope with plunging demand for crude caused by the coronavirus outbreak. Enbridge's Mainline has capacity [Read more]