International oil prices cover most of the decline in the day, and the geographical situation is expected to add new variables to the supply side

On Thursday (October 28), Brent crude oil prices rebounded from a three-week low set in the day. Although previous official data showed that crude oil inventories in the United States unexpectedly increased sharply, and the increase in new crown cases in Europe and Russia has frustrated hopes for economic recovery, the geopolitical situation in the Middle East has tightened, limiting the decline in oil prices.

At 15:52 GMT+8, NYMEX crude oil futures fell 0.90% to US$81.92/barrel; ICE Brent crude oil futures fell 0.91% to US$83.09/barrel. The two cities respectively hit a new low of US$80.58/barrel since October 14 and a new low of US$81.61/barrel since October 7.


Russia's record number of deaths and the threat of restarting epidemic prevention and lockdown measures, coupled with the continuous increase in the number of cases in Western Europe, put the brakes on the rebound of oil prices over the past few weeks.

ANZ Research's commodity strategists Daniel Hynes and Soni Kumari said in a report on Thursday: "The surge in new cases of the new crown may endanger the recovery of oil demand."

The United States’ economic growth rate in the third quarter is expected to hit the lowest rate in more than a year. The rebound of the new crown epidemic will further hit the global supply chain and lead to a shortage of products such as automobiles. The Delta mutant strain also suppressed spending on services such as air travel and dining out.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced that as of the week of October 22, crude oil inventories increased by 4.268 million barrels to 430.8 million barrels, much higher than analysts’ estimates of an increase of 2 million barrels.

Commodity analysts at Citi Research said in a research report that the huge increase in inventories occurred under the background of a sharp increase in net crude oil imports and still sluggish refinery processing.

Despite this, US gasoline inventories fell by 1.993 million barrels to 215.8 million barrels last week, the lowest since 2017; inventories at the Cushing Delivery Center in Oklahoma fell by 3.899 million barrels to 27.3 million barrels, as of October 2018 The lowest level since.

Sources and US officials officially said that Saudi Arabia is seeking help from Washington to strengthen its defenses. Saudi Arabia is under tremendous pressure from the United States to demand an end to the blockade of Yemen’s ports. The Houthi armed forces stated that lifting the blockade is a prerequisite for ceasefire negotiations.

In 2015, after the Houthi armed forces overthrew the Sana’a authorities recognized by the international community, the Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen. In the past few years, the war killed tens of thousands of people and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine. The Houthi armed forces have repeatedly used drones and ballistic missiles to attack Saudi territory. Negotiations to end the war stalled.