ANZ Bank: Oil prices receive short-term boost due to decrease in US crude oil inventories

Analysts from Australia and New Zealand Banking Group expressed in a report that the market sentiment has improved as a result of strong signs of demand in the United States, leading to a rebound in oil prices. Weekly data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed a decrease of 6 million barrels in U.S. crude oil inventories, bringing the total to 420.7 million barrels. Although this data slightly improved the short-term outlook for oil prices, overall market sentiment remains pessimistic. Any peace agreement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict could result in reduced restrictions on Russian oil, and the OPEC+ group accelerating the removal of 2.2 million barrels per day from their voluntary production cuts further supports bearish sentiment.