USOIL: Higher Crude Prices Coming The oil market is currently the battleground of a tremendously hard-fought struggle that will likely resolve in favor of higher prices with an increase in volatility along the way.
After decisively holding the line above $100/bbl in recent weeks, Crude Oil looks ready to extend gains.
On one side you have the price suppression from the US-led SPR releases, and the echoing effects of the FED and Central Banks stepping on the brakes.
Then on the other side are the supplies as Russian crude gets harder to place (aside from Asia), risks to complementary sources of energy (especially gas), a foot-dragging OPEC+, and support for consumption in ex-China economies as they move beyond the pandemic.
The latest news from Europe is supportive of prices, especially the choking off of Russian gas flows to Poland and Bulgaria .
That'll boost energy costs, and may be the precursor to interruptions elsewhere .
On top of all that, the EU is set to begin transitioning away from Moscow's oil , as well as a shift away from Russian business from major trading houses .
U.S. crude stockpiles rose 619,000 barrels last week . However, refined products markets continued to show signs of extraordinary tightness as the disappearance of Russian oil forced Europe and Latin America to depend more on U.S. imports for fuel.
Taking all this into consideration, Crude Oil looks set to push higher.
