WTI crude oil slipped 1.56% to close at $72.56 per barrel after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its weekly Crude Oil Inventories report, which measures the weekly change in the number of barrels of commercial crude oil held by U.S. firms.
Compared to last week, inventories increased by 2.951 million barrels. For reference, economists were expecting a decrease of 917,000 barrels week-over-week. This means that demand was weaker than anticipated.
In addition, the latest numbers from the American Petroleum Institute indicate oil stockpiles in the U.S. rose by 3.6 million barrels in the week ended May 5.
Natural gas, too, joined oil with a 3.35% slide to settle at $2.191 per MMBtu and still remains roughly 50% lower so far this year.
Oil giant Saudi Aramco has come out with a weak set of first-quarter numbers, with net income for the quarter dropping 19% to $31.9 billion. Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) also saw an impact from lower energy prices for Q1, as the bottom line plummeted 49%, accompanied by a 15% drop in revenue.
Amid recent gyrations, the United States Oil Fund ETF (USO) is still holding the fort with a 2.31% gain over the past five sessions. Here is a list of energy stocks that can be influenced by the latest developments in the energy markets.
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