Oil gains with U.S. inventory data set to show sliding supplies

as mentioned in Photo: APOil extended gains as U.S. industry data showed a decline in crude and fuel stockpiles ahead of government figures due later Wednesday. U.S. inventories of crude, gasoline and distillates fell last week, the American Petroleum Institute was said to report. Crude has struggled to regain the highs of June as an intensifying trade spat between the U.S. and China, the world's biggest oil importer, threatens to hurt demand. If the Cushing drop is confirmed by the Energy Information Administration's data, it would be the 10th consecutive weekly decrease. Crude inventories in the European storage hub at Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp rose by 3.3 million barrels last week, according to Genscape data.

Tariff Dispute Threatens China's Thirst for U.S. Oil

Now the second-largest consumer of U.S. oil exports after Canada, China has seen its demand rise 200-fold over past two years and last year bought a fifth of American crude-oil exports. But crude oil is on China's list of 114 exports targeted for tariffs should the trade battle intensify. American exports to China rose sharply after Washington lifted a ban on crude exports in 2015, and are still up strongly in the first half this year. But the growing popularity of sport-utility vehicles and air travel point to the tenacity of China's oil demand. Far from receding, China's crude imports have surged in recent years, reaching a record 298 million barrels in January.

U.S. Sanctions Could Add $50 To Oil Prices

referring to The oil industry might not be able to produce enough oil to meet global demand in a few years' time. But over the long-term, there are also questions about the global oil industry's ability to supply enough oil to the market. U.S. shale growth over the past decade has been so explosive that it helped crash oil prices in 2014. Until recently, the oil market assumed a loss of about 0.5 mb/d from Iran because of U.S. sanctions. So based on those assumptions, we estimate zero Iran exports could push oil up by $50/bbl if Saudi caps out.

collected by :Frank Ithan