Wednesday saw U.S. oil prices dip slightly even in the face of sudden drop in the nation’s oil supply.
According to the U.S. Energy Department, the nation’s crude oil supply fell by 2.4 million barrels last week, contrary to suggestions by analysts that there would be a 1.8million barrels increase. Standard U.S. crude for May delivery fell 12 cents to close at $99.62 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude which is used to set prices for international varieties of oil dropped 83 cents to $104.79 per barrel on the ICE exchange in London. The likely reopening of oil export facilities in Libya which had been occupied by militias, has weighed down the price of Brent crude. Libya is a major supplier crude oil to European refineries.
“The ports in question have a daily export capacity of 600,000 barrels, which would increase Libya’s oil shipments six-fold in one fell swoop,” said analysts at Commerzbank in Frankfurt in a note to clients. The analysts warned however that similar reports in the past had shown that “any agreement that is reached can in a matter of days turn out to be worth less than the paper it is written on.”
In the U.S, the average price for a gallon of gasoline remained at $3.56, which is up10 cents from a month ago, but 8 cents lower than at this time a year ago.
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