"Oil Prices Dip Despite Significant Drop in U.S. Crude Inventories"
Oil prices declined after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a significant increase in fuel inventories, despite a 5.5 million barrel draw in crude oil for the week ending December 29, 2023. The report showed a large gasoline inventory build of 10.9 million barrels and a middle distillate inventory increase of 10.1 million barrels. These inventory builds overshadowed the crude draw and contributed to the downward pressure on oil prices. Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions and an outage at Libya’s largest oil field, Sharara, have caused some upward movement in prices, with Brent crude approaching $80 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate above $70 per barrel. Goldman Sachs predicted Brent crude would trade between $70 and $90 per barrel for the year, citing stable OPEC supply and geopolitical risks as major price factors.