Crude oil futures continued to rise on Friday (May 27) due to tight oil inventories and the prospect of higher oil demand over the Memorial Day weekend. Monday, May 30, is a holiday in the U.S.
- WTI crude futures were up 98 cents, or 0.9%, at $115.07 a barrel. and rose 4.3% this week.
- BRENT crude futures were up $2.03, or 1.7%, at $119.43 a barrel and were up 6.1% for the week.
Crude oil contracts were driven by rising gasoline demand and low U.S. gasoline inventories.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released data showing that gasoline inventories in the U.S. are currently about 8% below the five-year average at this time of year.
Demand for oil is likely to increase over the weekend, as Memorial Day is the time when Americans travel.
Investors are waiting for the outcome of the European Union (EU) meeting on May 30-31 to discuss sanctions against Russian oil. The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, is confident that EU members will be able to reach an agreement before the meeting.
Moreover, investors expect OPEC and OPEC+ countries to stick to the original agreement when they meet next week.
OPEC+ will continue to adhere to its original June 2 agreement and increase oil production by only 432,000 barrels per day in July. This would be an unchanged volume compared to June.
The Spot Market is Closed
Saturday, May 28, 2022
| Energy Updated at | USD Price | Change | %Change |
| Crude Oil 13.00 | 115.07 | +0.98 | +0.86% |