Oil futures staged an intraday U-turn Wednesday, lifting U.S. prices back above $46 a barrel with analysts attributing the bounce to traders considering the details of the latest weekly U.S. petroleum supply reports and technical trading. The reversal exemplified the extreme volatility the market has seen in recent days. A massive three-day streak of gains, which lifted West Texas Intermediate crude prices by more than 27% ended Tuesday with a loss of 7.7% as worries about China’s economy resurfaced. Gains for oil on Wednesday intensified after the release of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, which indicated that there were growing wage pressures in the economy. That could delay an interest-rate hike. October WTI crude rose 84 cents, or 1.9%, to settle at $46.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices had earlier touched a low of $43.21. October Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange also settled 94 cents, or 1.9%, higher at $50.50 a barrel.
The supply data wasn’t quite as bearish as it was at first glance, said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures Group. The drop in refinery runs was a surprise, but really was because of California refinery issues, not a drop in demand, said Flynn. “So I think with stocks coming back, oil traders are looking at the fine print in the report.” Early Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported an increase of 4.7 million barrels in crude supplies for the week ended Aug. 28. Analysts polled by Platts forecast a crude-stock fall of 800,000 barrels, while the American Petroleum Institute Tuesday said supplies rose 7.6 million barrels. “While numbers were not as bearish as API reported…they were still telling,” said John Macaluso, an analyst at Tyche Capital Advisors.
Looking ahead, the market may see continued builds in crude supplies due to unplanned refinery outages and planned maintenance, he said. The EIA also reported that gasoline supplies fell 300,000 barrels while distillate stockpiles climbed 100,000 barrels last week.