By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Oil was up on Thursday morning in Asia, with supply concerns growing after a storm reportedly damaged a major export terminal system on the Black Sea.
Brent oil futures inched up 0.07% to $121.69 by 11:20 PM ET (3:20 AM GMT) while WTI futures were down 0.43% to $114.44. Alongside the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, concerns about supply disruptions have intensified, giving both Brent and WTI futures a boost. Brent oil futures have gained 13% since Monday, while WTI futures were up 10% over the same period.
Oil markets soared by more than 5% on Wednesday, with storm damage completely halting crude exports from Kazakhstan’s Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak also said oil supplies from the terminal could be stopped for two months.
The CPC pipeline carries about 1.2 million barrels daily, most of which is Kazakh, to a port on the Russian Black Sea coast.
Meanwhile, Wednesday’s U.S. crude oil supply data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed a draw of 2.508 million barrels for the week ended Mar. 18. Forecasts prepared by Investing.com predicted a 114,000-barrel build, while a 4.345-million-barrel build was recorded during the previous week.
Crude oil supply data from the American Petroleum Institute, released the day before, showed a draw of 4.280 million barrels.
“The oil market is very tight and with U.S. production remaining steady and as stockpiles continue to decline, oil prices have only one way to go,” OANDA senior market analyst Edward Moya said in a note.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden will attend a NATO emergency summit in Brussels later in the day, where he is expected to announce more sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.
Source : Investing.com