(BFM Stock Exchange) – Oil prices accelerate decrease this Wednesday after the publication of a sharp increase in crude stocks in the United States. The Brent price fell to a lower since December 2021.

Oil lessons plunge Wednesday, in the wake of the publication of an increase in American American stocks and still shaken by the announcement on Monday of the return from April to barrels of the organization of the oil exporting countries and its allies (OPEC+).

Around 6:00 p.m., the price of the barrel of Brent of the North Sea, for delivery in May, lost 3.5% to 68.56 dollars, at the lowest since December 2021. Its American equivalent, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate, for delivery in April, fall of 4.1% to 65.47 dollars, after falling at 65.22 at the lowest since May 2023.

Oil reserves up in the United States

The fall in oil has accelerated with the publication Wednesday by the American Energy Agency (EIA) for the week completed on February 28 of raw oil reserves up.

American crude crude stocks increased by 3.61 million barrels last week, while the consensus of Bloomberg economists expected an increase of only 192,000 barrels.

An increase in stocks is an unfavorable factor at the price, since it indicates a lower oil demand.

An increase in offer from April

This data shares a particularly lower and unstable market which still digests the announcement of OPEC+ production increases since Monday evening, which could initiate an “change of OPEC strategy”, explain DNB analysts.

“The latest message from OPEC+ is extremely powerful,” says Bjarne Schieldrop, the rise in supply “at a time when we are heading for a period of excess oil market potentially amplified by the macroeconomic winds of Trump customs tariffs” is a major argument for cheaper black gold.

The OPEC+ plan provides for the return of 120,000 additional daily barrels per month for 18 months, to which a special exemption must be added by the cartel to the United Arab Emirates. In April, the group will therefore add 138,000 daily barrels on the market.

For DNB analysts, if the plan is maintained, the Brent should dive into a price range between 60 and 70 dollars and the excess offer could accumulate.

The market also suspected the trade war committed by Donald Trump against many countries, unfavorable to economic growth, and is preparing for a possible stop of American sanctions against Russia, two factors which strengthen the downward trend of black gold.

(With AFP)