Oil advances after slumping on back of IEA reserve release plan

Oil advances after slumping on back of IEA reserve release plan

New York: Oil rebounded after a steep slump that was triggered by prospects for further crude releases from strategic reserves, the outlook for tighter US monetary policy and weaker demand in virus-hit China. West Texas Intermediate rose toward $98 a barrel after retreating by more than $5 on Wednesday after the International Energy Agency said that US allies will deploy 60 million barrels from stockpiles. That’s on top of the 180 million-barrel release already announced by President Joe Biden. Oil has been wracked by intense volatility over the past six weeks as Russia’s attack on Ukraine roiled commodity markets. In response to the conflict, Washington and its allies have been trying to punish Russia economically, while also moving to stem the rise in energy prices that’s fanning already-elevated inflation. The scale of the combined crude releases is unprecedented. “It looks like Asian buyers are taking advantage of lower prices,” said Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at Oanda Asia Pacific Pte. “The conflict is still going on, Russian sanctions are tightening, and there is still a structural deficit in oil supplies because of that, even with these SPR releases.” Oil traders were also assessing the consequences of a hawkish pivot