By Mahmoud Gamal
Mubasher: Global oil prices continued their declines on Wednesday, after the leap in gasoline inventories and Iran’s confirmation that oversupply poses the biggest threat to the oil market currently.
Brent oil fell by $2.13 to reach $34.2 per barrel, which is the lowest price since 2014. U.S. crude also dropped to $33.9 per barrel.
Total gasoline inventories increased by 10.6 million barrels last week, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Total motor gasoline supplied (the agency’s measure of consumption) averaged 9 million barrels a day for the past four weeks, down by 3.6% compared with the same period a year ago.
The leap in gasoline inventories fueled concerns among equity traders and pushed them to sell shares today, said economist Ahmed Hassan Karam.
The drop in oil price today to record levels was due mainly to Iran’s statement that oversupply poses the biggest threat for the oil market, he added.
Meanwhile, Iran’s envoy to the OPEC said the political spat between his country and Saudi Arabia would have a short-term impact.
The oil fall was coupled with a drop in Japanese stocks in Thursday’s early trading. U.S. stocks also fell on Wednesday, as Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 1.47% to 16,906.51 points, S&P lost 1.3% to 1,990.26 points and NASDAQ Composite Index slid 1.14% to 4,835.77 points.
