Hints that the overproduction of oil may be reducing sent oil prices to one-month highs on Wednesday morning. Brent crude futures gained 0.4 percent to trade at $54.40, a 23 cent gain per barrel. U.S. WTI crude futures gained 27 cents per barrel, to trade at $51.30 per barrel.
According to oil analysis firm Vortexa, oil shipments have fallen by approximately 17 percent since the start of 2017, with a decrease of over 100 million barrels of oil on water so far this year. Tracking oil shipments is a fairly accurate way to track market conditions as most of OPEC’s crude is exported on tankers.
U.S. crude stocks decreased by 1.8 million barrels last week, though U.S. stocks still remain near an all-time high, with 533.7 million barrels stockpiled, according to the American Petroleum Institute. Inventory figures from the U.S. Energy Information Association will be out later on Wednesday.
Thin Trading Slows Markets
In contrast to oil’s notable price increases on Wednesday, the currency markets remained relatively placid as traders wait for the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s March meeting at which the Fed raised interest rates. Traders are also waiting for data from the U.S. non-farm payroll report which will be out this coming Friday, before jumping back into the markets.
The dollar traded at 110.73 yen on Wednesday morning while the dollar index was flat, trading at 100.49 .DXY. The euro gained marginally during the morning session to trade at $1.06795.