MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th November, 2020) Global prices on crude increased by 2 percentage points on Wednesday amid the American Petroleum Institute (API) signaling a significant drop in oil reserves in the United States last week and the ongoing uncertainty about the outcome of the US presidential election.
As of 05:10 GMT, January futures of Brent crude traded $40.6, an increase of 2.1 percentage points, while December futures of WTI crude increased 2.3 percentage points to $38.5.
Overnight Wednesday, the API reported that the US oil reserves lost 8 million barrels in the week to October 30, the biggest drop since the week to August 28, when the stock decreased by 9.4 million barrels. The US Department of Energy is expected to provide official figures later on Wednesday.
Investors also closely follow the course of the US presidential election, which took place on Tuesday. All polling stations have now closed and the vote count is on. Incumbent President Donald Trump of the Republican Party is running against former Vice President Joe Biden of the Democratic Party. At the time of the writing, Biden maintains a lead with 237 electoral votes as opposed to 213 electoral votes for Trump.
Markets are also responsive to the OPEC+ deal on collective output cuts by oil producers. Traders expect that the deal might be altered due to the looming second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, especially in Europe, and the emanating drop in demand.�
