West Texas Intermediate crude closed 75 cents higher, anticipating that Ukraine's attack on Russian refineries would affect global supplies.

InfoQuest – West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures in New York closed positive for the second straight day on Wednesday (March 19), supported by expectations of increased oil supplies in the global market affected by Ukraine's move to attack Russian oil. Refineries. While investors are watching the US crude oil inventory report today.

The WTI contract is scheduled for delivery in April. It rose 75 cents, or 0.91%, to close at $83.47 a barrel. This is the highest closing level since October 27, 2023.

Brent crude oil (BRENT) contract for delivery in May. It rose 49 cents, or 0.56%, to close at $87.38 a barrel. This is the highest closing level since October 31, 2023.

Ukrainian military forces launched several attacks on Russian oil facilities this year. This month in particular, at least seven oil refineries were attacked using Ukrainian krona. As a result, oil refining in Russia decreased by 370,500 barrels per day, or 7% of the country's refining capacity.

Alex Hoeds, an energy analyst at StoneX, estimates that an attack on Russian oil refineries could reduce global oil supplies by 350,000 barrels per day and lead to higher US crude oil prices.

Oil prices also received a positive boost from reports that Iraq, the second-largest crude oil producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), announced that it would reduce crude oil exports to 3.3 million barrels per day in the coming months. In the next few months including the news that Saudi Arabia is the largest oil producer in the OPEC group. Oil exports were reduced in January. It fell to 6.297 million bpd from 6.308 million bpd in December. This is a decline in oil exports for the second month in a row.

Oil prices also received support from signs of strong demand and economic growth in China and the United States. Recently, the US Department of Commerce revealed that the number of new homes increased by 10.7% to reach 1.521 million units in February. The monthly comparison was higher than analysts' expectations by 1.43 million units.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) said US crude oil inventories fell by 1.5 million barrels in the week ending March 15, contrary to analysts' expectations of a 10,000-barrel increase, as investors watched. Management (Environmental Impact Assessment).

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