WTI (futures on Nymex) is back in the red after a moderate gain on Tuesday, as the bears challenge the bullish commitments just below the $73 mark.
The fresh weakening in US oil comes after Reuters reported that an OPEC+ panel, the Joint Technical Committee (JTC), has warned of “major uncertainties” and the prospect of a potential global oil market imbalance after April 2022, citing findings from a confidential report.
In a base scenario, OECD oil stocks would be 96 million barrels and 125 million barrels lower in the third and fourth quarters of 2021, respectively, than the 2015-2019 average.
A considerable increase is expected in 2022, resulting in a year-end overhang of 181 million barrels.
According to the latest American Petroleum Institute (API) data released late Tuesday, the black gold has headed south once again, as it continues to face rejection over $73.50, despite a reduction in US oil stockpiles. According to the API report, US oil stockpiles decreased by 8.15 million barrels last week.
The Delta covid variant-induced dangers of derailing global economic recovery, as well as concerns about gasoline demand growth, are also weighing on WTI sentiment. Markets are now anticipating the weekly crude stockpiles report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) as well as current risk patterns for new trade opportunities in oil.
WTI is down 0.20 percent to $72.86 at the time of writing, returning to the weekly lows of $71.97 set on Tuesday.
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