{"id":8505,"date":"2025-04-30T18:50:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T22:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/2025\/04\/30\/crude-prices-plunge-on-reports-saudi-arabia-can-sustain-a-period-of-low-oil-prices\/"},"modified":"2025-04-30T18:50:00","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T22:50:00","slug":"crude-prices-plunge-on-reports-saudi-arabia-can-sustain-a-period-of-low-oil-prices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/2025\/04\/30\/crude-prices-plunge-on-reports-saudi-arabia-can-sustain-a-period-of-low-oil-prices\/","title":{"rendered":"Crude Prices Plunge on Reports Saudi Arabia Can Sustain a Period of Low Oil Prices"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"layout__region nsdq-l-grid__item syndicated-article-body\">\n<section class=\"jupiter22-c-article-body\">\n<div class=\"body\">\n<div class=\"body__content\">\n<p>June WTI crude oil (CLM25) Wednesday closed down -2.21 (-3.66%), and June RBOB gasoline (RBM25) closed down -0.0393 (-1.91%).<\/p>\n<p>Crude oil and gasoline prices on Wednesday extended this week\u2019s sharp losses, with crude sinking to a 3-week low and gasoline tumbling to a 2-week low. \u00a0Concerns about global energy demand are undercutting crude prices after the US economy in Q1 contracted by the most in 3 years, and China\u2019s manufacturing activity this month contracted by the most in 16 months. \u00a0 Also, Wednesday\u2019s stronger dollar was bearish for energy prices. \u00a0Losses in crude accelerated Wednesday after Reuters reported that Saudi Arabian officials have been telling allies and industry experts that it can endure a sustained period of depressed prices. \u00a0Crude prices remained lower even after weekly EIA crude and gasoline inventories fell more than expected. \u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"ads__inline\">\n<div id=\"js-dfp-tag-X2c\"  class=\"btf-bodymidpagetwothirdswidth-1\">          <script type=\"text\/javascript\">         googletag.cmd.push(function() {             \/\/ Check if ID matches ID in the window.adsList array before calling googletag.display             function isAdInAdsList(id) {             for (var i = 0; i < window.adsList.length; i++) {                 if (window.adsList[i].id === id) {                     return true;                 }             }             return false;         }         if (isAdInAdsList('js-dfp-tag-X2c')) {             googletag.display('js-dfp-tag-X2c');         }         });     <\/script> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>     <span>Don\u2019t Miss a Day: <\/span> From crude oil to coffee, sign up free for Barchart\u2019s best-in-class commodity analysis.  <\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Fears about the oversupply of crude are bearish for prices after Reuters reported Wednesday that Saudi Arabia said it could withstand a period of depressed oil prices, bolstering fears of a prolonged period of higher production from the OPEC+ alliance. \u00a0 Last Wednesday, Reuters reported that several OPEC+ members would suggest accelerating oil output hikes in June for a second consecutive month. \u00a0Saudi Arabia could boost its crude production to reduce crude prices and punish those OPEC+ members that produce above their assigned limits, further flooding the global markets with crude. \u00a0OPEC+ members will meet on May 5 to discuss the June output plan.<\/p>\n<p>Wednesday\u2019s US and Chinese economic news were weaker-than-expected and bearish for energy demand and crude prices in the world\u2019s two largest crude-consuming countries. \u00a0The US Apr ADP employment change rose +62,000, weaker than expectations of +115,000 and the smallest increase in 9 months. \u00a0Also, Q1 GDP fell -0.3% (q\/q annualized), weaker than expectations of -0.2% and the steepest pace of contraction in 3 years. \u00a0In addition, China\u2019s Apr manufacturing PMI fell -1.5 to 49.0, weaker than expectations of 49.7 and the steepest pace of contraction in 16 months. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The US and Iran reported progress in talks over the weekend on a deal over Iran\u2019s nuclear program, with negotiators from both sides agreeing to meet again in Europe this week. \u00a0Any agreement on Iran\u2019s nuclear program could prompt the US to remove export restrictions on Iranian crude oil, which would boost oil supplies on theglobal marketand be bearish for crude prices. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>An increase in crude oil held worldwide on tankers is bearish for oil prices. \u00a0Vortexa reported Monday that crude oil stored on tankers that have been stationary for at least seven days rose by +34% w\/w to 90.73 million bbl in the week ended April 25, the highest in 9 months.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ads__inline\">\n<div id=\"js-dfp-tag-Fks\"  class=\"btf-bodymidpagetwothirdswidth-2\">          <script type=\"text\/javascript\">         googletag.cmd.push(function() {             \/\/ Check if ID matches ID in the window.adsList array before calling googletag.display             function isAdInAdsList(id) {             for (var i = 0; i < window.adsList.length; i++) {                 if (window.adsList[i].id === id) {                     return true;                 }             }             return false;         }         if (isAdInAdsList('js-dfp-tag-Fks')) {             googletag.display('js-dfp-tag-Fks');         }         });     <\/script> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Crude prices have a negative carryover from April 3, when OPEC+ said it would boost crude production in May by 411,000 bpd, much more than the +138,000 bpd of crude production it added this month. \u00a0OPEC+ is boosting output to reverse the 2-year-long production cut, gradually restoring a total of 2.2 million bpd of production. \u00a0OPEC+ had previously planned to restore production between January and late 2025, but now that production cut won\u2019t be fully restored until September 2026. \u00a0OPEC Mar crude production rose +80,000 bpd to a 13-month high of 27.43 million bpd.<\/p>\n<p>Stronger crude demand in China, the world\u2019s largest crude importer, supports oil prices. \u00a0Reuters reported earlier this month that China\u2019s Mar crude imports rose to 12.1 million bpd, the highest since August 2023.<\/p>\n<p>In a supportive factor for crude oil prices, the US on January 10 imposed new sanctions on Russia\u2019s oil industry that could curb global oil supplies. \u00a0The measures targeted Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftgas, which exported about 970,000 bpd of Russian crude in the first 10 months of 2024, accounting for about 30% of its tanker flow, according to Bloomberg data. \u00a0The US also targeted insurers and traders linked to hundreds of tanker cargoes. \u00a0Russian oil product exports in March rose to a 5-month high of 3.45 million bpd, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from analytics firm Vortexa. \u00a0Weekly vessel-tracking data from Bloomberg showed Russian crude exports rose by +40,000 bpd w\/w to 3.39 million bpd in the week to April 27.<\/p>\n<p>Wednesday\u2019s weekly EIA report was mixed for crude and products. \u00a0On the bearish side, EIA distillate inventories unexpectedly rose +937,000 bbl versus expectations of a -1.7 million bl draw. \u00a0Also, crude supplies at Cushing, the delivery point of WTI futures, rose +682,000 bbl. \u00a0On the positive side, EIA crude inventories fell -2.7 million bbl, a larger draw than expectations of -575,000 bbl. \u00a0Also, EIA gasoline supplies fell -4.0 million bbl, a larger draw than expectations of -1.4 million bbl. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Wednesday\u2019s EIA report showed that (1) US crude oil inventories as of April 25 were -6.6% below the seasonal 5-year average, (2) gasoline inventories were -3.9% below the seasonal 5-year average, and (3) distillate inventories were -11.9% below the 5-year seasonal average. \u00a0US crude oil production in the week ending April 25 was unchanged w\/w to 13.465 million bpd, modestly below the record high of 13.631 million bpd from the week of December 6.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ads__inline\">\n<div id=\"js-dfp-tag-TIE\"  class=\"btf-bodymidpagetwothirdswidth-3\">          <script type=\"text\/javascript\">         googletag.cmd.push(function() {             \/\/ Check if ID matches ID in the window.adsList array before calling googletag.display             function isAdInAdsList(id) {             for (var i = 0; i < window.adsList.length; i++) {                 if (window.adsList[i].id === id) {                     return true;                 }             }             return false;         }         if (isAdInAdsList('js-dfp-tag-TIE')) {             googletag.display('js-dfp-tag-TIE');         }         });     <\/script> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Baker Hughes reported last Friday that active US oil rigs in the week ending April 25 rose +2 to 483 rigs, moderately above the 3-1\/4 year low of 472 rigs posted on January 24. \u00a0The number of US oil rigs has fallen over the past two years from the 5-year high of 627 rigs posted in December 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><i>     On the date of publication,      Rich Asplund              did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy          here. <\/i><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p> More news from Barchart <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Energy Commodities in Q1 2025- Where are they Heading in Q2?<\/li>\n<li>How Low Can Crude Oil Go?<\/li>\n<li>Will Gasoline Prices Head Higher During the 2025 Driving Season?<\/li>\n<li>Where are Gasoline Prices Heading in the 2025 Driving Season?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"body__disclaimer\">The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>        <script type=\"text\/javascript\">   \/\/ add oddAd class to every odd instance of body .ads__inline for different placeholder styles   let articleAds = document.querySelectorAll('.ads__inline');   for (let i = 0, len = articleAds.length; i < len; i++) {     \/\/ Do the below only if the curent count is less than 12     if ((i < 12) &#038;&#038; (i % 2 === 0)) {       articleAds[i].className += ' oddAd';     }   } <\/script>                                               <\/p>\n<div class=\"jupiter22-c-tags jupiter22-c-tags-default\">\n<h3 class=\"jupiter22-c-tags-title\">         Tags       <\/h3>\n<div class=\"jupiter22-c-tags-container\">Stocks<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>June WTI crude oil (CLM25) Wednesday closed down -2.21 (-3.66%), and June RBOB gasoline (RBM25) closed down -0.0393 (-1.91%). Crude oil and gasoline prices on Wednesday extended this week\u2019s sharp losses, with crude sinking to a 3-week low and gasoline tumbling to a 2-week low. \u00a0Concerns about global energy demand are undercutting crude prices after [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8506,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stock","entry","has-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8505"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8505\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}