Oil Drops Below $50 for First Time Since December on Supply Glut
- Crude inventories rose by 8.2 million barrels last week: EIA
- WTI options post second-highest volume ever, volatility rises
Rise in U.S. Oil Supply Puts Pressure on OPEC
This article is for subscribers only.
OPEC and its partners have seen the post-agreement oil rally evaporate as the U.S. inventory glut becomes impossible to ignore.
West Texas Intermediate closed at the lowest since Nov. 29, the day before OPEC approved the first supply cuts in eight years. Crude supplies rose 8.2 million to the highest level in weekly government data since 1982. Harold Hamm, the U.S. shale oil billionaire, warned on Wednesday that the industry could “kill” the market if it embarks on another spending binge. The market swoon stoked the second-highest WTI options trading volume ever.