What’s happening: Crude oil prices recorded losses on Wednesday, as investors assessed the weekly data on US inventories.
What happened: Oil prices had risen for three straight sessions before official US data showing a surprise increase in domestic crude inventories last week led to a decline in prices.
Strength in the US dollar also exerted further pressure on crude prices.
Why it matters: The Energy Information Administration said that US commercial crude inventories surged by 5.5 million barrels in the week ended October 18. This came against market expectations of a decline of 800,000 barrels in the week.
Data also showed gasoline supplies increasing by 900,000 barrels and distillate supplies contracting by 1.1 million barrels last week, versus estimates of a decline of 2.1 million barrels and 2.4 million barrels, respectively.
US oil production remained almost flat at 13.5 million barrels per day (bpd) last week, while demand for gasoline rose with 8.838 million bpd of total motor gasoline supplied, compared to 8.620 million bpd a week ago.
Strength in the US dollar also weighed on crude oil prices, as a higher greenback makes commodities more expensive for foreign currency holders. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s performance versus a basket of major peers, gained more than 0.3% to 104.43 on Wednesday, after surging to its strongest level since July 30 earlier during the session.
WTI crude oil for December delivery declined by 97 cents, or around 1.4%, to close at $70.77 per barrel on the NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange) on Wednesday. December Brent crude fell $1.08, or 1.4%, to settle at $74.96 per barrel on ICE Futures Europe.
In other energy trading, November gasoline dipped around 1.5% to $2.04 a gallon, while November heating closed at $2.22 a gallon, down by 0.7%. Natural gas for November delivery gained 1.3% to close at $2.34 per million British thermal units.
What to watch: Investors await the release of EIA’s data on natural gas stockpiles today. US natural gas inventories, which rose by 76 billion cubic feet during the week ended October 11, are expected to increase by 61 billion cubic feet in the latest week.
Elevated geopolitical tensions, which have led to supply concerns, will also remain in focus.
Context: Shares of AT&T gained on Wednesday, after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings.
Details: AT&T added more wireless subscribers than was estimates during the July to September quarter, boosted by the steady adoption of its premium plans.
AT&T added 403,000 net postpaid wireless phone subscribers, which surpassed market estimates of 394,600. The company’s fibre business gained 226,000 customers during the quarter.
Operating revenues contracted 0.5% year-over-year to $30.21 billion, missing consensus estimates of $30.44 billion due to a decline in phone upgrades. Adjusted earnings came in at 60 cents per share, topping Wall Street expectations of 57 cents per share.
The company’s operating expenses rose by 14% to $28.1 billion in the third quarter.
“We delivered another strong and consistent quarter, furthering our leadership in converged 5G and fiber connectivity. Despite severe weather and a work stoppage in the Southeast, this is our 19th straight quarter of adding more than 200,000 new AT&T Fiber customers,” CEO John Stankey said.
Management reiterated their full-year projections for wireless service revenue growth of around 3%, broadband revenue growth of 7% and adjusted earnings of $2.15-$2.25 per share.
How shares responded: AT&T’s shares jumped 4.6% to close at $22.49 on Wednesday, following the release of quarterly results. The stock has added more than 30% year to date.
What to watch: Investors will continue monitoring new subscriber additions, which could provide a significant boost to the company’s overall results ahead.
Other Markets: European indices closed lower on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100, DAX 40, CAC 40 and STOXX Europe 600 Index down by 0.58%, 0.23%, 0.50% and 0.30%, respectively.
North Korea sent 3,000 military troops to Russia for support in the country’s ongoing war with Ukraine. The news sent the RUB/USD pair slightly higher in forex trading this morning.
UK’s car production declined by 20.6% year-over-year to 70,039 units in September. This being the seventh straight month of decline exerted pressure on the GBP/USD forex pair.
South Korea’s economy expanded by 0.1% in the third quarter, following a 0.2% decline in the previous quarter. However, the latest reading coming in below market expectations of a 0.5% expansion sent the KRW/USD pair lower in forex trading this morning.
Australia’s Judo Bank services PMI business activity index rose to 50.6 in October, from 50.5 in the previous month. The region’s services activity expanding for the ninth straight month lent support to the AUD/USD forex pair.
Argentina’s economic activity estimator fell by 3.8% year-over-year in August, after a 0.9% decline in the previous month. However, the latest reading fared better than market estimates of a 4.9% decline, which sent the ARS/USD pair higher in forex trading this morning.
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