Oil Futures Fall Despite EIA Weekly Stockpile Draws


   
Maria Eugenia Garcia
DTN Energy Editor

   HOUSTON, TX (DTN) -- Oil futures edged down Wednesday (5/13) despite Energy 
Information Administration data showing a third straight weekly decline in U.S. 
commercial crude inventories. Traders kept their focus on the US-China summit 
and its potential implications for global trade tensions amid the ongoing 
impasse in the Iran war.

   The front-month NYMEX WTI futures contract dipped $1.20 to $100.98 bbl, 
while the July ICE Brent futures contract dropped $2.14 to $105.23 bbl.

   June RBOB gasoline futures fell $0.0797 to $3.6180 gallon, the front-month 
ULSD contract decreased $0.1875 to $3.9713 gallon.

   The U.S. dollar index strengthened 0.240 points to 98.420 against a basket 
of currencies. 

   Commercial crude inventories fell for a third consecutive week by 4.3 
million bbl to 452.9 million bbl, and gasoline stockpiles dipped to a nearly 
six-month low, according to EIA data for the week ended May 8 released 
Wednesday.

   The declines were roughly double those reported by the American Petroleum 
Institute (API) which late Tuesday (5/12) estimated a 2.26 million draw in 
commercial crude.

   Separately, the International Energy Agency reported Wednesday that oil 
demand is expected to contract by 420,000 bpd to 104 million bpd year-over-year 
in 2026, this is 1.3 million bpd lower than its previous forecast.  The agency 
said the biggest decline will occur in the second quarter, with the 
petrochemical and aviation sectors the most affected

   On the political front, with negotiations for a ceasefire in the Iran 
conflict still stalled, market attention shifted toward the U.S.-China summit.

   On Wednesday, President Trump arrived in Beijing for a three-day state visit 
to China to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, marking the first visit by 
a U.S. president to that country in nearly nine years.

    The summit comes more than a year after the Trump administration imposed a 
baseline 10% tariff on most Chinese good imported into the U.S., prompting 
retaliatory measures from China and escalating trade tensions between both 
countries.

   The meeting's agenda is expected to focus on bilateral economic relations as 
well as the war in Iran war, as China is the largest buyer of Iranian oil 
despite U.S. sanctions.  




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