Following the ugliest day in a month for WTI (on OPEC production increase survey), bulls hopes rest on tonight's API data confirming the recent trend of inventory draws but that was not to be. Against expectations of a 3.1mm draw, API reported crude inventories built by 1.78mm barrels last week. The kneejerk reaction was clear - down hard.
API
- Crude +1.78mm (-3.1mm exp)
- Cushing +2.562mm (-700k exp)
- Gasoline -4.827mm (-1mm exp)
- Distillates -1.225mm
The recent trend in draws (for crude, gasoline, and distillates) was stymied last week with the biggest crude draw in 2 months, and a huge build at Cushing...
Following the Oil ETF's largest monthly withdrawal since 2009, WTI was hovering just above $49 as API printed but tumbled on the surprise build...
“This race to rebalance supply and demand--it’s a marathon and lot of people are entering it thinking it’s just a quick sprint,” Mark Watkins, a regional investment manager at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, which oversees $142 billion in assets, told Bloomberg. “But, this rebalancing is going to take a lot longer than a month, or six months or even a year.”