Yesterday oil dropped after the markets learned that the United States crude stockpiles increased and in light of the decision of the OPEC+ coalition to ease its supply cuts.
The Energy Information Administration reported yesterday that the U.S. crude stockpiles increased by 4.9 million barrels for the week ending on July 17. This added to the fact that the OPEC+ coalition decided to ease its supply cuts from 9.7 million barrels per day to 7.7 million barrels per day starting next month, spread the fears for oversupply in the oil markets, which put negative pressure on the markets' performance.
The coronavirus crisis continues advancing around the world, infecting 15,380,140 individuals and killing 630,343. The United States leads in the number of infections with 4,100,875 confirmed infections and a death toll of 146,183, followed by Brazil, India, and Russia.
The West Texas crude oil futures went down by 0.14 percent, closing the session at the 41.90 level, while the Brent oil futures remained almost steady, losing 0.07 percent and closing Wednesday's session at the 44.29 level.
The US stock markets advanced during the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.62 percent, closing at the 27,005.84 level. Conversely, the Nasdaq 100 gained 0.35 percent, closing at the 10,870.75 level, while the S&P 500 closed at the 3,276.02 level, adding 0.57 percent during the session.
Making a reference to the fact that the EU members agreed on a joint stimulus program, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen commented that the arrangement is a huge historic step for the bloc.
“We have now a unanimous agreement on the need for new own resources. And this is a huge and historic step forward for our Union, which both the Commission and the Parliament have long been pushing for,” she highlighted during a speech in front of the European Parliament.
Under this new deal, the bloc members would have access to 390 billion Euros in grants and to 360 billion in repayable loans. Originally the deal would include 500 billion in grants but the northern European countries opposed this arrangement, which increased concerns regarding the future of the bloc.
European Markets also lost territory during the session. The CAC 40 lost 1.32 percent during the session, closing at the 5,037.12 level. Conversely, the DAX dropped by 0.51 percent, closing at the 13,104.25 level, while the IBEX 35 dropped 1.39 percent during the session, closing at the 7,390.10 level.