WTI oil price firm at $76 mark as US oil supplies drop

15 July 2010 15 July 2010

BonTrade

WTI oil prices open Thursday’s trading session around the $76 mark as the latest EIA data suggests that US oil supplies have dropped lower than predicted.

This morning, US Light crude oil futures for August 2010 delivery was at $76.64 a barrel, 07.30 GMT on the NYMEX.

Oil prices were supported by the weekly inventories report from the US EIA yesterday, which showed that crude oil stockpiles were down by 5.1 million barrels last week, nearly twice the predicted amount.

The EIA reported that US oil refineries operated at 90.5 percent of capacity last week, but also said that US refining capacity is down this year over 2009.

Meanwhile, the IEA’s July 2010 Oil Market Report had said that delays to new oil projects in the Gulf of Mexico “have already shaved 30,000 barrels per day off both 2010 and 2011 US crude oil production.