August WTI crude oil (CLQ25) Thursday closed up +1.16 (+1.75%), and August RBOB gasoline (RBQ25) closed up +0.0264 (+1.23%).
Crude oil prices rallied Thursday on concerns about tighter global oil supplies after Iraq said it has lost about 200,000 bpd of crude production due to drone attacks on several oil fields in Kurdistan. Also, signs of strength in the US economy are positive for energy demand and crude prices on Thursday’s better-than-expected US economic reports. Gains in crude were limited due to Thursday’s rally in the dollar index (DXY00) to a 3.5-week high.
Signs of strength in the US economy are bullish for energy demand and crude prices. Weekly initial unemployment claims unexpectedly fell -7,000 to a 3-month low of 221,000, showing a stronger labor market than expectations of an increase to 233,000. Also, Jun retail sales rose +0.6% m/m, stronger than expectations of +0.1% m/m. In addition, the July Philadelphia Fed business outlook survey rose +19.9 to a 5-month high of 15.9, stronger than expectations of -1.0.
Limiting gains in crude is the outlook for Iraq to boost crude exports from its northern Kurdish region through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline, where oil exports have been halted since March 2023. The Iraqi government approved a plan for the semi-autonomous Kurdish region to resume oil exports. Kurdistan expects to supply Iraq’s crude market with 230,000 bpd of crude once exports resume. Iraq is OPEC’s second-biggest oil producer.
Concern about a global oil glut is negative for crude prices. On July 5, OPEC+ agreed to raise its crude production by 548,000 barrels per day (bpd) beginning August 1, exceeding expectations of a 411,000 bpd increase. Saudi Arabia also stated that additional similar-sized increases in crude output could follow, which is viewed as a strategy to reduce oil prices and penalize overproducing OPEC+ members, such as Kazakhstan and Iraq. OPEC+ is boosting output to reverse the 2-year-long production cut, gradually restoring a total of 2.2 million bpd of production by September 2026. On May 31, OPEC+ agreed to a 411,000 bpd increase in crude production for July, following the same 411,000 bpd hike for June. June crude production rose +360,000 bpd to a 1.5-year high of 28.10 million bpd.
In a supportive factor for oil prices, Bloomberg reported last Thursday that OPEC+ is discussing a pause in further production increases from October, following its next monthly hike in September of 548,000 barrels. OPEC+ may be concerned about a slowdown in global oil demand in the second half of this year that could lead to a supply glut if the group keeps boosting production. The International Energy Agency said inventories have been accumulating at a rate of 1 million bpd and that the global crude oil market faces a surplus by Q4-2025 equivalent to 1.5% of global crude consumption.
A decrease in crude oil held worldwide on tankers is bullish for oil prices. Vortexa reported Monday that crude oil stored on tankers that have been stationary for at least seven days fell by -4.6% w/w to 78.03 million bbl in the week ended July 11.
Wednesday’s weekly EIA report showed that US crude inventories in the week ended July 11 fell by -3.859 million bbls, the first draw in three weeks. Gasoline inventories rose +3.399 million bbls, and distillate inventories rose by +4.173 million bbls. The EIA report showed that (1) US crude oil inventories as of July 11 were -8.0% below the seasonal 5-year average, (2) gasoline inventories were -0.1% below the seasonal 5-year average, and (3) distillate inventories were -21.1% below the 5-year seasonal average. US crude oil production in the week ending July 11 fell -0.1% w/w to 13.375 million bpd, modestly below the record high of 13.631 million bpd posted in the week of 12/6/2024.
Baker Hughes reported last Friday that the number of active US oil rigs in the week ending July 11 decreased by -1 rig to a new 3.75-year low of 424 rigs. Over the past 2.5 years, the number of US oil rigs has fallen sharply from the 5.25-year high of 627 rigs reported in December 2022.
