High inventory adds pressure on oil - ING

The oil market continued to decline for a third straight session this morning, ING's commodity experts Ewa Manthey and Warren Patterson note.

Prices are about to witness their record monthly loss

"WTI is trading back below $60/bbl while ICE Brent is down about 15% this month, with prices about to witness their record monthly loss. Lingering tariff risks and expectations of OPEC+ loosening output curbs continue to pressure oil prices. Meanwhile, a bearish inventory report from the American Petroleum Institute (API) further weighed on prices."

"Numbers overnight from the API show that US crude oil inventories increased by 3.8m barrels over the last week, in contrast to the 0.8m barrel draw the market was expecting. Cushing crude oil stocks increased by 674k barrels. As for refined products, the API estimates that gasoline stocks decreased by 3.1m barrels, while distillate inventories fell by 2.5m barrels."

"Despite the recent weakness in the oil market, demand for Middle East crude appears to remain stable, with the market expecting Saudi Arabia to raise the official selling price by around US$0.3/bbl for Asian buyers for June deliveries. Earlier, Saudi Arabia reduced its official selling price for its Arab Light grade into Asia for May loading by US$2.30/bbl - the biggest cut since 2022."