USA Crude Oil Stocks Drop Nealy 2MM Barrels WoW

Commodity

Economic

Summary:

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), decreased by 1.8 million barrels from the week ending November 28 to the week ending December 5, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) highlighted in its latest weekly petroleum status report.

That report was published on December 10 and included data for the week ending December 5. The report showed that crude oil stocks, not including the SPR, stood at 425.7 million barrels on December 5, 427.5 million barrels on November 28, and 422.0 million barrels on December 6, 2024.

Crude oil in the SPR stood at 411.9 million barrels on December 5, 411.7 million barrels on November 28, and 392.5 million barrels on December 6, 2024, the report revealed. Total petroleum stocks - including crude oil, total motor gasoline, fuel ethanol, kerosene type jet fuel, distillate fuel oil, residual fuel oil, propane/propylene, and other oils - stood at 1.684 billion barrels on December 5, the report showed. Total petroleum stocks were down 2.9 million barrels week on week and up 55.8 million barrels year on year, the report pointed out.

"At 425.7 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about four percent below the five year average for this time of year," the EIA said in its latest weekly petroleum status report.

"Total motor gasoline inventories increased by 6.4 million barrels from last week and are about one percent below the five year average for this time of year. Finished gasoline and blending components inventories increased last week," it added.

"Distillate fuel inventories increased by 2.5 million barrels last week and are about seven percent below the five year average for this time of year. Propane/propylene inventories decreased 1.8 million barrels from last week and are about 15 percent above the five year average for this time of year," it continued.

U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged 16.9 million barrels per day during the week ending December 5, according to the report, which highlighted that this was 17,000 barrels per day less than the previous week's average.

"Refineries operated at 94.5 percent of their operable capacity last week," the EIA said in its report.

"Gasoline production decreased last week, averaging 9.6 million barrels per day. Distillate fuel production increased by 380,000 barrels per day last week, averaging 5.4 million barrels per day," it added.

U.S. crude oil imports averaged 6.6 million barrels per day last week, the EIA noted in the report. It pointed out that this was an increase of 609,000 barrels per day from the previous week.

"Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged about 6.2 million barrels per day, 7.7 percent less than the same four-week period last year," the EIA said in its report.

"Total motor gasoline imports (including both finished gasoline and gasoline blending components) last week averaged 659,000 barrels per day, and distillate fuel imports averaged 181,000 barrels per day," it added.

Total products supplied over the last four-week period averaged 20.4 million barrels a day, up by 1.6 percent from the same period last year, the EIA stated in its latest weekly petroleum status report.

"Over the past four weeks, motor gasoline product supplied averaged 8.5 million barrels a day, down by 1.3 percent from the same as the last year period," it added.

"Distillate fuel product supplied averaged 3.7 million barrels a day over the past four weeks, up by 3.4 percent from the same period last year. Jet fuel product supplied was down 0.8 percent compared with the same four-week period last year," it went on to state.

In a market comment sent to Rigzone on Wednesday, Wael Makarem, Financial Markets Strategists Lead at Exness, highlighted that the American Petroleum Institute (API) "reported a massive draw in crude oil inventories of 4.8 million barrels, significantly larger than the forecast of a 1.7 million barrel draw".

Makarem added in that comment that "traders could react to the EIA crude inventory data later today, which could complement the API data".

Macquarie strategists, including Walt Chancellor, revealed in a report sent to Rigzone late Monday by the Macquarie team that they were forecasting that U.S. crude inventories would be down by 7.0 million barrels for the week ending December 5.

"This follows a 0.6 million barrel build in the prior week, with the crude balance again realizing tight relative to our expectations," the strategists said in that report.

Source: Rigzone

To stay updated on all economic events of today, please check out our Economic calendar

Risk Warnings and Disclaimers

You understand and acknowledge that there is a high degree of risk involved in trading. Following any strategies or investment methods may lead to potential losses. The content on the site is provided by our contributors and analysts for information purposes only. You are solely responsible for determining whether any trading assets, securities, strategy, or any other product is suitable for investing based on your own investment objectives and financial situation.

Add to Favorites

Justin

Political

Economic

President Donald Trump is expected to direct his administration to move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, according to people familiar with the matter, a move that could represent one of the biggest shifts in US policy toward cannabis in decades.

Trump has discussed the idea with marijuana industry executives, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, the people said.

A White House official said no final decisions have been made on rescheduling. The Washington Post reported earlier on the plans.

Cannabis is currently labeled a Schedule I drug, putting it in the same category that includes substances like heroin and LSD, categorized as having no medical use and a high potential for abuse. Trump is weighing pushing to reclassify it to a Schedule III drug, according to the people, which would move it to a tier for substances seen as having a lower potential for dependency — on the same level as ketamine, Tylenol with codeine, as well as anabolic steroids.

Reclassification would make it easier to buy and sell cannabis, delivering a major victory for companies and investors in the sector as well as patients who use medical marijuana. Cannabis companies have been lobbying for reform in Washington and a reclassification decision could ease tax burdens and obstacles to banking services, help draw more mainstream lenders and investors and bolster opportunities for medical research.

US legislation around cannabis is a patchwork. Though it's banned federally, states differ widely in terms of legalization. More than 40 states and the District of Columbia allow marijuana use for medical purposes, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, while about half allow for recreational usage.

Efforts to pass federal legislation decriminalizing marijuana have so far yielded little progress.

While Trump may seek changes to the current status, including through an executive order, rescheduling would likely only take effect after the government finishes a rulemaking process that has been on hold since January.

Trump acknowledged deep divisions over the issue in August when he said a decision on marijuana classification could come in weeks. He said at the time that he had spoken to proponents of reclassification who stressed the medical benefits of cannabis and those on the other side who said loosening of restrictions posed a risk to children. The president told attendees at an August fundraiser in New Jersey that he was considering the change, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The campaign to reclassify marijuana gained momentum under President Joe Biden. The Justice Department in 2024 recommended shifting cannabis to Schedule III, prompting a formal review by the Drug Enforcement Administration. However, progress has been stalled with legal challenges and agency delays, leaving the issue and industry in limbo.

Opponents of reclassification have said the Biden administration's case for the change relied on flawed reasoning and downplayed health risks.

Kennedy has previously supported decriminalization at the federal level. He has spoken often about his own personal experiences with addiction and said in February that he was concerned about high-potency marijuana, but that widespread state legalization and decriminalization offered a chance to study real-world effects.

The decision comes as Trump's administration has sought to crack down on drug trafficking and taken a tougher stance on another drug, fentanyl.

Trump signed legislation in July that permanently designated all fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs, increasing penalties for those caught trafficking. The president has seized on a public health crisis sparked by the synthetic opioid to crack down on border security and undocumented migration and has levied tariffs on the three largest US trading partners in part over fentanyl trafficking.

Source: Bloomberg Europe

To stay updated on all economic events of today, please check out our Economic calendar

Risk Warnings and Disclaimers

Add to Favorites

Warren Takunda

Economic

The European Union is expected on Friday to lock up Russia’s assets held in Europe until it gives up its war in Ukraine and compensates its neighbor for the heavy damage that it has inflicted for almost four years.

The move is an important step that would allow EU leaders to work out at a summit next week how to use the tens of billions of euros in Russian Central Bank assets to underwrite a huge loan to help Ukraine meet its financial and military needs over the next two years.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán – Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in Europe – accused the European Commission, which prepared the decision, “of systematically raping European law.”

A total of 210 billion euros ($247 billion) in Russian assets are frozen in Europe. The vast majority of the funds — around 193 billion euros ($225 billion) at the end of September — are held in Euroclear, a Belgian financial clearing house.

The money was frozen under sanctions that the EU imposed on Russia over the war it launched on Feb. 24, 2022, but these sanctions must be renewed every six months, and all 27 member countries must approve them for that to happen.Hungary and Slovakia oppose providing more support to Ukraine.

Friday’s expected decision, which is based on EU treaty rules allowing the bloc to protect its economic interests in certain emergency situations, would prevent them from blocking the sanctions rollover and make it easier to use the assets.

Orbán said on social media that it means that “the rule of law in the European Union comes to an end, and Europe’s leaders are placing themselves above the rules.”

“The European Commission is systematically raping European law. It is doing this in order to continue the war in Ukraine, a war that clearly isn’t winnable,” he wrote. He said that Hungary “will do everything in its power to restore a lawful order.”

In a letter to European Council President António Costa, who will chair the summit starting on Dec. 18, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said that he would refuse to back any move that “would include covering Ukraine’s military expenses for the coming years.”

He warned “that the use of frozen Russian assets could directly jeopardize U.S. peace efforts, which directly count on the use of these resources for the reconstruction of Ukraine.”

But the commission argues that the war has imposed heavy costs by hiking energy prices and stunting economic growth in the EU, which has already provided nearly 200 billion euros ($235 billion) in support to Ukraine.

Source: AP

To stay updated on all economic events of today, please check out our Economic calendar

Risk Warnings and Disclaimers

Add to Favorites

Gerik

Economic

Broad Rally Masks AI-Driven Weakness in Tech Sector

U.S. equities continued their upward trajectory Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average both closing at all-time highs. The Russell 2000 also reached a new peak, buoyed by the Federal Reserve’s quarter-point rate cut on Wednesday, which signaled a more supportive stance for future growth.

However, the market’s overall optimism masked growing investor unease in the technology sector. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.25%, dragged lower by Oracle’s nearly 11% plunge following a weak earnings report. Oracle’s disappointing results marked by sluggish revenue, increased capital spending, and long-term lease obligations sparked a broader retreat from AI-exposed names such as Nvidia and Micron.

Broadcom Beats Expectations but Fails to Soothe Concerns

Despite reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and revenue, Broadcom’s stock dropped 5.17% in after-hours trading. The company revealed that Anthropic, an AI firm backed by Amazon, is now a $10 billion customer, highlighting its growing AI footprint. Yet CEO Hock Tan's failure to ease concerns about Google potentially bringing chip production in-house and ambiguity around its deal with OpenAI sparked investor anxiety.

Rising memory costs also weighed on sentiment, raising doubts about Broadcom’s ability to sustain margins in 2026. These concerns highlight a broader trend: while AI remains a core investment theme, markets are beginning to scrutinize whether inflated valuations and partnership headlines translate into durable, profitable growth.

Rotation Into Financials, Cyclicals Suggests Economic Confidence

While tech stumbled, other sectors showed strength. The S&P 500 financials sector hit a new record, supported by solid gains in Visa and Mastercard. This rotation suggests investors are hedging exposure to high-growth tech and redirecting capital into areas seen as benefiting from economic resilience and rate normalization.

The market’s breadth reflects a wider confidence in the U.S. economy, which appears poised for a soft landing. Fed officials reinforced this outlook during their Wednesday meeting, signaling rate support amid cooling inflation. As long as no macroeconomic shock occurs, markets look set for a positive end to the year.

Corporate Highlights Reflect Shifting Industry Landscapes

Disney made headlines with a $1 billion investment in OpenAI, also granting its characters to OpenAI’s video generator, Sora. CEO Bob Iger framed the move as both strategic and future-oriented, as the entertainment giant seeks relevance in a rapidly evolving content economy shaped by generative AI.

Meanwhile, Reddit has filed a legal challenge against Australia’s new ban on social media for users under 16, arguing the policy violates the country’s implied freedom of political communication. The case could test the boundaries of digital rights and regulatory authority in a post-platform era.

Oracle’s future trajectory remains under review. After its disappointing quarter, analysts are reevaluating price targets, with some warning that high capital expenditures and vague AI narratives may continue to weigh on investor confidence unless clarity improves.

Geopolitics: U.S. National Security Strategy Jolts Europe

In the background, geopolitics remains a critical force shaping market risk. Former CIA director and U.S. Army General David Petraeus commented on the White House’s recent national security strategy, which sparked anxiety across Europe by warning of “civilizational erasure.” Petraeus defended the strategy, suggesting that it was a necessary wake-up call to galvanize European defense commitments something successive U.S. administrations have sought without lasting success.

This broader strategic rhetoric adds another layer of complexity to global markets, particularly for investors watching defense budgets, U.S.-Europe trade dynamics, and the positioning of American influence in a multipolar world.

Year-End Rally Driven by Sector Rotation, Not AI Euphoria

The December market rally reflects growing optimism about economic conditions and the benefits of monetary easing. However, the shine is coming off some of the AI narrative as investors recalibrate expectations and shift funds into more stable, earnings-driven sectors like financials.

This sectoral rotation suggests a more balanced rally than what was seen earlier in the year. As investors look ahead to 2026, they are likely to favor fundamentals and earnings quality over hype especially in the AI and tech space. For now, broad market strength remains intact, but it is no longer being led by the same names that drove early 2025 gains.

Source: CNBC

To stay updated on all economic events of today, please check out our Economic calendar

Risk Warnings and Disclaimers

Add to Favorites

Michelle

Forex

Economic

British households' inflation expectations edged down from their highest in two years, a slight easing that may soothe concerns at the Bank of England as officials decide whether to cut interest rates further.

Households anticipate prices rising 3.5% over the next 12 months, down from the two-year high of 3.6% in August, according to a survey by the central bank. They predicted prices would climb 3.7% annually in five years' time, also down 0.1 percentage point from the last time the survey was done.

While the figures suggest household inflation expectations remain at elevated levels, the cooling was the latest sign that the BOE is beginning to contain the threat from a fresh spike in inflation. It is expected to resume its cutting cycle at its meeting on Thursday, though economists predict a close result with Governor Andrew Bailey seen as the key swing voter.

The rate decision will be announced the day after official inflation data is released for November, which may indicate whether price pressures have peaked. CPI is expected to cool to 3.4%, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists, compared with 3.6% in October.

The forward-looking inflation expectations survey is closely watched by the central bank for signs that elevated price pressures will persist. Households fearing high inflation to continue could demand bigger wage rises that feed back into prices.

UK Economy Risks Quarterly Contraction After Surprise GDP Slump

Robert Wood, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said the small fall "helps the case for a rate" cut next week. "This will give rate-setters some comfort that expectations can continue falling as headline inflation slows through to next summer," he added.

High expectations have kept some on the Monetary Policy Committee wary over reducing rates further. However, there is growing evidence of inflation cooling and the economy stalling with figures earlier on Friday showing gross domestic product contracting again in October.

Hawks on the panel are resisting a further easing in interest rates after raising concerns about signs that households expect sticky inflation to linger. The MPC's doves argue that a weak labor market will reduce workers' ability to get bumper pay hikes, limiting the inflation impact from high expectations.

The survey also showed Britons increasingly fear the BOE will raise rates to stamp out sticky inflation. The net share of households expecting hikes in the next 12 months hit the highest since November 2023.

Source: Bloomberg Europe

To stay updated on all economic events of today, please check out our Economic calendar

Risk Warnings and Disclaimers

Add to Favorites

Warren Takunda

Economic

London stocks rose in early trade on Friday as the latest UK GDP data cemented expectations of a rate cut from the Bank of England next week.

At 0825 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 9,739.93.

Figures released earlier by the Office for National Statistics showed the economy unexpectedly contracted in October amid uncertainty ahead of the Budget.

The economy shrank 0.1% following a 0.1% decline in September and no growth in August. Economists had been expecting growth of 0.1%.

Services saw a 0.3% decline, while construction fell by 0.6%, but production grew by 1.1% in October.

ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said: "The economy contracted slightly in the latest three months, as production fell again and services growth stalled.

"Within production, there was continued weakness in car manufacturing, with the industry only making a slight recovery in October from the substantial fall in output seen in the previous month.

"Overall services showed no growth in the latest three months, continuing the recent trend of slowing in this sector. There were falls in wholesale and scientific research, offset by growth in rental and leasing and retail."

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "The 0.1% increase which had been expected simply did not materialise and was not helped by a high level of uncertainty around the Budget and its stultifying actions.

"With the economy heading closer to a technical recession, the Bank of England may be forced to take action and ease interest rates more aggressively in an effort to inject some enthusiasm into the ailing economy at its meeting next week."

In equity markets, Standard Chartered rallied after an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Goldman Sachs, while InterContinental Hotels was boosted by an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Jefferies.

Premier Inn owner Whitbread was knocked lower by a downgrade to ‘hold’ at Jefferies.

Playtech was also in the red after a downgrade to ‘underweight’ at Morgan Stanley.

Independent oil and gas company Harbour Energy rose after agreeing to buy all the subsidiaries of Waldorf Energy Partners and Walford Production Ltd in a $170m deal.

WH Smith edged lower after saying it would publish annual results on 19 December to give auditors more time to finish their work in the wake of an accounting error that wiped almost £600m from the company’s stock market value last month and led to the departure of chief executive Carl Cowling.

Card Factory tumbled as it warned on profits, pointing to weak consumer confidence and soft high street footfall.

The company, which sells greetings cards and gifts, now expects to deliver full-year adjusted pre-tax profit of between £55m and £60m. It had previously guided to mid-to-high single-digit percentage growth for FY26, from £66m.

Source: Sharecast

To stay updated on all economic events of today, please check out our Economic calendar

Risk Warnings and Disclaimers

Add to Favorites

Glendon

Stocks

Economic

Solid U.S. growth and a weaker U.S. dollar, as well as artificial intelligence productivity gains, are anticipated to support an increase in S&P 500 earnings next year, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs.

Stay ahead of every breaking move with real-time news, stock impact analysis, and Wall Street commentary on InvestingPro - get 55% off today.

In a note, the strategists including Ben Snider and Ryan Hammond predicted that profit per share in stocks in the benchmark index would rise by an annualized 12% in 2026 to $305.

Revenue is also tipped to grow by 7% next, with 70 basis points of profit margin expansion, the analysts added.

For 2027, meanwhile, S&P 500 income per share is tipped to rise a further 10% to $336.

Underpinning these forecasts are Goldman Sachs's predictions for accelerating gross domestic product growth in the U.S., along with a further softening in the dollar. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currency pairs, has slipped by more than 7% over the past one-year period.

"Beyond the macro drivers, the profitability of the largest stocks will continue to be a key driver of S&P 500 earnings growth," they argued, adding that returns from the seven largest stocks in the index -- Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Broadcom, and Meta -- account for roughly a quarter of its total earnings.

The Goldman Sachs analysts projected that these stocks will raise their collective earnings by 29% in 2026, similar to a pace set in 2025. These shares have been buoyed by hopes that massive investments in AI will eventually pay off for investors, although some concerns have recently swirled around when these profits will be seen.

Worries have also surrounded whether the -- often debt-powered -- AI expenditures will squeeze profit margins, potentially denting the case for frothy tech valuations. A string of circular dealmaking in the AI sector has also raised eyebrows among some observers.

Still, "continued strength in AI investment alongside healthy growth in other businesses will support roughly +20% sales growth for these stocks in 2026," the Goldman analysts said.

Broader, AI-driven productivity gains are also expected to lift S&P 500 earnings per share by 0.4% in 2026 and 1.5% in 2027, with the analysts suggesting that the process of widespread AI adoption remains in its infancy.

"We [...] assume both corporate adoption and the realized share of the total potential productivity boost will gradually build over time," they wrote.