For several days now, the oil market has been showing increased volatility, and the quotes of Brent and WTI fluctuate within wide ranges. If yesterday a barrel of Brent was worth about $83 per barrel, then today the quotes have dropped to $81.50. Pressure on the «black gold» was exerted by the news that the administration of US President Joe Biden, considering the possibility of selling oil from the strategic reserve, is trying to achieve the same from China. At talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Biden also urged him to sell oil from the country's reserves, but China is not yet ready for such measures. The current Brent quote is $81.90 per barrel, WTI oil is trading at $79.20 per barrel. Analysts note that if China agrees to release oil in order to lower prices on the market, it will be possible to talk about the beginning of a «bearish» trend. Additional pressure on oil prices was exerted by yesterday's data from the American Petroleum Institute (API), according to which hydrocarbon reserves in the United States increased by 655 thousand barrels. A week earlier, inventories fell by 2.485 million barrels. Today, the US Department of Energy will present similar data. Analysts predict an average weekly decline in oil reserves by 2.5 million barrels, gasoline – by 100 thousand barrels, distillates – by 1.3 million barrels.
