Oil prices continued to rise after posting their biggest one-day gain in a month as U.S. crude inventories fell for the third consecutive week, according to Jinshi Data on July 18. Although inventories usually fall at this time of year, they are still below the five-year seasonal average.
Oil prices are still higher this year, thanks largely to supply cuts from OPEC+, which have offset production increases outside the group. Expectations of U.S. interest rate cuts have also helped prices.
At the same time, crude oil's time spreads are also widening, indicating strong demand in the near term. "Futures prices broke free of their losing streak as a sharp correction in the dollar supported oil prices," said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova Pte. "A larger-than-expected drop in U.S. inventories also suggests strong demand."
