---
title: "Oil Jumps As Record-High Crude Exports Signal Rising Demand"
description: "Oil jumped after the US exported a record amount of crude and fuel last week, indicating higher demand for American oil."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Business Maverick"
author: "Bloomberg"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/bloomberg/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-10-26-oil-jumps-as-record-high-crude-exports-signal-rising-demand/"
published: "2022-10-26T18:29:37"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 395
---

# Oil Jumps As Record-High Crude Exports Signal Rising Demand

> Oil jumped after the US exported a record amount of crude and fuel last week, indicating higher demand for American oil.

By Bloomberg · Published 26 October 2022, 20:29 SAST

## Content

West Texas Intermediate futures rose as much as 3.3% to climb above $88 a barrel after US crude [exports](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-26/the-us-is-exporting-record-oil-and-fuel-even-as-east-coast-faces-shortages) hit a weekly high. The fuel outlook remained tight as gasoline stockpiles fell and diesel inventories on the East Coast, already precariously low, fell further. A smaller-than-expected 2.59 million barrel build in crude inventories was largely brushed off by markets that honed in on the high export figure.

“Higher exports, falling gasoline inventories -- both of those signal that we’re going to need more US oil down the road,” said Rob Thummel, a portfolio manager at Tortoise Capital Advisors, which manages roughly $8 billion in energy-related assets.

Meanwhile, a gauge of the dollar declined for a second day to its [lowest](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-25/asia-stocks-set-to-rise-on-us-rally-dip-in-yields-markets-wrap) level in three weeks, making commodities priced in the currency more attractive. Oil prices have been sinking ever since US benchmark WTI peaked above $120 in June, largely weighed down by strength in the greenback and ever-growing recession fears as central banks hike interest rates to combat inflation.

Crude markets have whipsawed as traders mull a dimming outlook for demand but see a tighter landscape for supply amid OPEC+ production cuts and European sanctions on Russian oil taking full effect.

Some are hopefully watching China for signs of a potential economic uptick, which would help offset lower demand as recession fears heighten elsewhere. But headwinds still persist in the country as signs of macro-economic weakness continue to emerge. The [economy in China](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-26/china-s-economy-slows-in-october-as-business-confidence-slumps), the top crude importer, slowed in October, according to a Bloomberg index of early indicators, signaling last month’s pickup wasn’t enough to change the country’s grim economic picture.

| Prices: |
| --- |
| - WTI for December delivery climbed $2.68 to $88 a barrel at 11:40 a.m. in New York - Brent for December settlement rose $2.20 to $95.72 a barrel |

[Click here to read Bloomberg’s daily Europe Energy Crunch blog](https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2022-europe-energy-crunch-winter-blog/)

Tight supplies for both crude and oil products have pushed consumer prices up, prompting the Biden administration to release millions of barrels of crude from the nation’s strategic reserves in a bid to tame prices. Traders have been watching the Strategic Petroleum Reserve closely, as the US may soon have to purchase crude to refill its stockpiles. On Tuesday, [Saudi Arabia](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-25/saudi-oil-chief-warns-of-pain-as-global-stockpiles-fall)’s energy minister criticized major importers for trying to tame prices by selling down their inventories, warning that depleted stockpiles would create pain in coming months.