প্রকাশ: 22/06/2022
Oil prices dived
more than $4 a barrel on Wednesday amid a push by US President Joe Biden to
bring down soaring fuel costs, including pressure on the country's major energy
firms to help ease the pain for drivers during peak summer consumption.
By 0425 GMT US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures
were off lows but still down $4.04, or 3.7%, to $105.48 a barrel. Similarly,
Brent crude futures dropped $3.87, or 3.4%, to $110.78 a barrel.
As the United States struggles to tackle soaring gasoline
prices and inflation, President Joe Biden is expected on Wednesday to call for
temporarily suspending the 18.4-cents a gallon federal tax on gasoline, a
source briefed on the plan told Reuters.
"I think the non-stop Biden headlines, with the
administration seemingly in inflation panic mode, have played a part in the
latest sell-off as investors hate any uncertainty, even if irrational in the
context of the known supply concerns," said Stephen Innes, managing
partner at SPI Asset Management, in a note.
Seven oil companies are set to meet Biden on Thursday, under
pressure from the White House to drive down fuel prices as they make record
profits.
Chevron Chief Executive Michael Wirth, however, on Tuesday,
said criticising the oil industry was not the way to bring down fuel prices.
"These actions are not beneficial to meeting the
challenges we face," Wirth said in a letter addressed to Biden, which
sparked a response from Biden saying the industry was being too sensitive.
Despite worries about inflation, demand is still on the road
to recovery to pre-COVID levels and supply is expected to lag demand growth,
keeping the market tight, as flagged by trading giant Vitol and Exxon Mobil
Corp this week.
"The market is still coming to terms with the
increasing disruption to Russian oil. European sanctions have yet to kick
in," ANZ Research analysts said in a note, pointing to data showing that
so far there has only been a relatively limited drop in Russian fuel supply to
Europe since the conflict began.
Meanwhile, US oil refining capacity fell in 2021 for the
second year in a row, the latest government data showed on Tuesday, as plant
shutdowns kept whittling away at their ability to produce gasoline and diesel.
The official data showed a capacity decline of 125,790
barrels per day (bpd) last year on top of the 800,000 bpd drop in 2020.
- Reuters
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