Crude prices rise after a new API report

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The American Petroleum Institute (API) released a new report Tuesday which shows that American crude oil supplies have fallen by 3.8 million barrels this week. Their findings contradict the last week’s EIA data showing a massive build of 4.9 million barrels.

West Texas intermediate prices went up $0.48 to $50.77 right after the API report was released. At the same time gasoline supplies increased by 929,000 barrels, and distillates fell by 2.3 million barrels.

“People are stepping back and saying, what next? OPEC has to prove it’s really going to do something. They’ve talked the talk, now they’ve got to walk the walk,” Michael Hiley, head of OTC energy trading at New York-based LPS Futures, told Bloomberg, adding that "he wouldn’t be surprised to see us continue this choppy-type price action and go nowhere."

Analysts are now waiting for a report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) that is to be published the next day, as the data of two departments often contains widely different figures. The EIA report is expected to either confirm or deny the API’s findings.