The barrel price of Brent oil followed a fluctuating course during the day as oil stocks in the USA increased contrary to expectations and production increased. The statements of US President Donald Trump and US Energy Secretary Chris Wright regarding oil supply were also in the focus of the markets.
The forward barrel price of Brent oil, which rose to $99.30 yesterday, completed the day at $98.03. The December term barrel price of Brent oil reached $100.16 as of 10.30 today.
While the December term barrel price of Brent oil later declined again, the movement during the day showed that volatility continued in the oil market. The November delivery barrel price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil was traded at $89.55.
The fluctuation in oil prices was influenced by the fact that data showing that oil stocks in the USA increased, indicating that demand in the world's largest oil consuming country has weakened.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced that commercial crude oil stocks increased by approximately 900 thousand barrels last week compared to the previous week, reaching 427 million 300 thousand barrels. The market expectation was that stocks would decrease by approximately 700 thousand barrels.
The daily crude oil production of the USA increased by 16 thousand barrels in the same week, reaching 13 million 955 thousand barrels.
On the other hand, the country's strategic crude oil reserves, which are not included in commercial crude oil stocks, decreased by 800 thousand barrels to 283 million 800 thousand barrels.
The decrease in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve strengthened the assessment that the reserves were put into action in order to limit the reflection of rising oil prices due to geopolitical crises on fuel costs in the domestic market.
However, these data supported the expectations that there would be no supply shortage in the USA and contributed to the downward movement in oil prices.
On the other hand, US President Donald Trump's statements that a high amount of oil has been passing through the Strait of Hormuz recently and that American refineries are producing at record levels were also effective in the movement in prices.
Answering questions from members of the press after the announcement made at the White House regarding South Korea's investments in energy projects in the USA, Trump answered the question of whether a decision had been made to ban diesel exports and said that such a ban could help diesel prices but increase the prices of some other products.
Trump said, "I think we're in a good spot because oil prices will start to drop. There's a huge amount of oil coming out of the Strait of Hormuz right now." he said.
US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright also pointed out that American refineries are producing at record levels and said that announcements will be made regarding the arrival of new diesel supply to the market from Europe.
Wright stated that this development could significantly reduce diesel prices.
These statements contributed to the decline in risk premium in the markets and supported the downward movement of oil prices.
In Brent oil, technically $ 101.66 is watched as resistance and $ 91.48 is watched as support zone.
