Oil futures: Crude rises $1/b on lower US stocks, down 1% on week

Quantum Commodity Intelligence – Crude oil futures in afternoon London trading Friday rose by more than $1/b as the latest positive US inventory data calmed market nerves after prices had dropped by more than 7% in a 48 hour period.  

Front-month September Brent futures were trading at $75.56/barrel (1424 GMT), compared to Thursday's settle of $74.12/b, a rise of nearly 2% on the day, but down 1% on the week.

At the same time August WTI was trading $74.70/b, up from Thursday's settle of $72.94/b.

Energy Information Administration data revealed crude stocks fell by 6.9 million bpd in the past seven days - the seventh successive week of draws – to leave stocks at the lowest level since February 2020.

Gasoline stocks also showed a sharp draw, while demand hit an all-time high.

"Today, prices are rising due to the extraordinarily bullish US crude inventories data but the prospect of an OPEC+ rebellion still prevents prices from matching the optimism of last week," Louise Dickson of Rystad Energy said in a note to clients.

"(The fall in gasoline inventories) was the result of strong demand in the week leading up to the 4 July holiday. Apparent gasoline demand jumped above 10 million bpd for the first time since EIA started collecting the weekly data," said Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ. 

Meanwhile, the standoff between Saudi Arabia and UEA on production quotes continues, although reports that ADNOC was offering additional cargoes into the market have been dismissed by UAE officials.

Prices tumbled between Tuesday and Thursday on fears that a fractured OPEC+ alliance would release more barrels into the market.

As it stands, OPEC+ production is set to remain unchanged in August, compared to July output levels.

Otherwise, the spread of the Delta Covid variant remains a global concern as cases grow.

Tokyo declared a state of emergency for the Olympic Games, with restrictions in place until 22 August.