Crude oil futures prices were trading higher on Wednesday as traders eyed the arrival of Hurricane Idalia on the Florida coast, falling US inventories and the release of the ADP job creation report.
“According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Gulf of Mexico accounts for about 15% of US oil production and about 5% of natural gas production and some, if not all, is threatened by cause of the hurricane,” says Jeremy Naylor, an analyst at brokerage IG.
Yesterday, the API released the estimate of oil inventories in the United States, which fell by 11.5 million barrels in the week ended on the 25th of August. “The drop suggests firm demand,” said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities.
The ADP report, which shows the creation of vacancies in the private sector in the United States, released today (August 30), brought the creation of 177 thousand positions, below the 200 thousand predicted by the market. According to the institution, the leisure and hotel sectors showed the biggest falls. After two years of exceptional gains linked to the recovery, we are moving towards a more sustainable economy. growth in wages and employment as the economic effects of the pandemic subside,” said Nela Richardson, ADP’s chief economist.
There is also an ongoing coup d’état in Gabon, which is an oil producer and a member of OPEC. The military has recently elected President Ali Bongo under house arrest. The announcement was made on national television and came shortly after Bongo, whose family has ruled the country since 1967, was declared the winner of Saturday’s presidential elections, with 64% of the vote. Local opposition parties contested the results, which handed Bongo, 64, a third term.
The price of WTI oil contract (CCOM:OILCRUDE) traded on Nymex for delivery in October was up 0.50%, quoted at US$81.56 a barrel. The price of the Brent (CCOM:OILBRENT) contract traded on the ICE platform, with delivery in November, advanced 0.36%, quoted at US$ 85.80 a barrel.