Oil Hits 2019 High on Biggest U.S. Crude Storage Drop Since July - Bloomberg

Oil Hits 2019 High on Biggest U.S. Crude Storage Drop Since July - Bloomberg:

Oil closed at a new high for the year in New York after the biggest withdrawal of crude in U.S. storage tanks since July signaled further tightening supplies.

Futures gained 1.4 percent on Wednesday after a 9.59 million-barrel decline in American oil stockpiles reported by the government exceeded analysts’ expectations. U.S. crude exports were near a record high while imports from Saudi Arabia decreased by more than half and Venezuelan crude imports to the U.S. stopped altogether. Domestic inventories of gasoline and diesel also shrank, indicating continuing strong demand.

“We’re not really going to be relying on increasing supply from Venezuela or Saudi Arabia,” said Bart Melek, head of global commodity strategy at TD Securities in Toronto. “We are continuing to see fairly robust demand, so even if U.S. production increases we will probably see seasonally stronger declines in inventory.”