OIL MAINTAINS STEADY RISE

OIL PRICES climbed yesterday, buoyed by tight supplies and as US refiners drove processing activity to their highest level since before the coronavirus pandemic started.

Brent crude futures for July rose by 48 cents to $114.03 (about R1 792) a barrel by 4.50pm. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for July delivery gained 49c, or 0.4 percent, to $110.26 a barrel.

“Brent crude is trading in a very convincing upwards trend aided by very tight product markets again leading to a hunt for light sweet crudes which are naturally rich in easily refined petrol and diesel products,” Swedish bank SEB said in a note.

US crude stockpiles fell 1 million barrels last week, the government said, with petrol inventories also sliding modestly. Distillate stocks rose by 1.7 million barrels. Refiners picked up the pace of processing, boosting capacity use to 93.2 percent, its highest since December 2019.

Refiners have had to keep facilities running at full-tilt to deal with heavy demand, especially from overseas, as refined product exports rose to more than 6.2 million barrels a day last week. High exports and a reduction in refining capacity means gasoline stocks have dwindled in the US.

“Refiners are going to continue to burn the crude as much as they can,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group. “The market should be concerned going into this holiday weekend because petrol supplies are still very tight.”

This upcoming weekend’s US Memorial Day travel is expected to be the busiest in two years, causing fuel demand to rise as more drivers hit the road and shake off coronavirus pandemic restrictions despite high fuel prices.

Global crude supplies continue to tighten as buyers avoid oil from Russia, the world’s second-largest exporter, after the invasion of Ukraine.