US Crude Oil Inventories Decrease... International Oil Prices Reach Highest Level in 13 Months

WTI Closes at $93.68
Oil Price Expected to Surpass $100

International oil prices reached their highest level in over a year due to concerns about crude oil supply instability. The market is forecasting an imminent breakthrough of $100 per barrel.

On the 27th (local time) at the New York Mercantile Exchange, November delivery West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures closed at $93.68 per barrel, up 3.7% from the previous day. During the session, WTI futures prices exceeded $94 per barrel, marking the highest level in 13 months since August last year.

November Brent crude oil futures also closed up 2.1% at $94.36 per barrel that day.

With Saudi Arabia and Russia having agreed earlier this month to extend the crude oil production cut period, and news emerging that U.S. crude oil inventories have significantly decreased, oil prices were pushed higher. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 2.2 million barrels to 416.3 million barrels compared to the previous week, far exceeding the market's expected decrease of 320,000 barrels. Inventories at the Cushing hub in Oklahoma, a key U.S. crude oil storage site, dropped by 943,000 barrels to 22 million barrels, the lowest level since July last year, raising concerns about supply instability.

Dennis Kisler, Senior Vice President at BOK Financial, analyzed, "The biggest news for crude oil traders was the inventory levels at Cushing, which acted as a factor supporting the strength in oil prices."

The market is raising expectations that international oil prices will soon surpass $100 per barrel.

Ole Hansen, Head of Commodity Strategy at Saxo Bank, predicted, "Until a decision on production increases is made, the global energy market will remain in a tight supply condition."