- EIA data showed US crude inventories fell 3.1 million barrels in the week ending October 16, to 412.5 million barrels, 3% below the five-year average.
- API figures released a day earlier showed crude inventories fell 4.93 million barrels.
- Indian Oil Corporation plans to slightly reduce its Middle East crude share from 47% in the 2027/2028 fiscal year starting next March, amid uncertainty of supply from the region.
- Indian refiners have suspended some term purchases and turned to the spot market, tapping crude from Brazil, Venezuela, and Ecuador to offset supply lost in the Persian Gulf.
- India paid $15.4 billion to import crude oil in September, up 46% from the year-ago import bill of $10.5 billion.
- Crude oil climbed as tensions flared in the Middle East on October 21.
Quotes
“The decrease brings commercial stockpiles to 412.5 million barrels”
“amid uncertainty of supply from the region”