Futures contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude oil in the United States have shown some recovery from previous losses and are presently seeing a minor rise in price. Concerns about there being an excess supply on the market were the primary factor that drove the earlier losses. These worries were inspired by statements made by Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm of the United States of America. Granholm warned that it may take many years to replenish the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).
Futures contracts for WTI crude oil are now trading at $70.39 a barrel at 07:17 GMT, an increase of $0.27, or +0.39%. The United States Oil Fund Exchange Traded Fund (USO) finished trading on Thursday at $60.97, representing a decrease of $0.64, or 1.04%.
Despite Thursday’s one percent loss, it is anticipated that the U.S. benchmark would end the week with a gain of roughly three to four percent. This resurgence comes after huge weekly losses that were ascribed to worries about the possibility of a recession as well as a crisis in the banking industry.
According to recent sources, the dramatic turnaround that occurred on Thursday was a reaction to the notion that the United States would not refill its oil reserve even if prices for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) hit $67-$72 a barrel. This was the belief that prompted the market to act as it did.
The proposal to repurchase oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) was first announced by the White House in October of the previous year, and it was contingent on prices falling within a certain range.
However, Jennifer Granholm, the Energy Secretary, has warned lawmakers that adding to the stockpiles may prove tough this year. This is due to the fact that the stockpiles are currently at their lowest level since 1983 as a result of President Joe Biden’s direction from the previous year to sell reserves.
