U.S. crude oil stocks rose significantly, but production retreats

Oil prices have recovered somewhat as the week of trading ends. Brent is trading back above the $50 per barrel mark after dipping for a time to $48.2 yesterday afternoon. WTI has risen to $47 per barrel, which likewise constitutes a nearly $2 increase as compared with yesterday's low. 

The Brent contract rollover caused the front-month futures contract to appear to rise by $1 overnight. Although the US Department of Energy reported a sharp 7.6 million barrel increase in U.S. crude oil stocks, this was nonetheless lower than the inventory build reported by the API the day before, notes Commerzbank. 

Furthermore, there was a decrease in oil product stocks and US crude oil production. Russia expressed a willingness to talk with OPEC countries about possible production cuts at a meeting next week. We believe the chances of this yielding any concrete results are very slight.