WTI oil prices keep stumbling, sustaining near $59.50 a barrel after 3 straight days of losses. There was a small bounce during Thursday’s Asian hours, but honestly, the mood in the market is still pretty grim. Traders keep watching those growing crude inventories, and that’s just fueling more oversupply worries.
US Energy Information Administration numbers show crude oil stocks jumped by 5.2 million barrels last week. Compare that to the previous week’s 6.8 million barrel drop, and you see why people are nervous. It’s the biggest inventory spike since July, way above the forecast of a 1.8 million-barrel build. Clearly, supply is outpacing demand right now.
OPEC+ and other big producers like Russia keep ramping up output, which only adds to the problem. Mercuria analysts told Reuters the global oil surplus could hit 2 million barrels per day next year if nothing changes. OPEC+ did sign off on a small production boost for December, but most expect them to hold off on further increases in early 2026 because demand just isn’t looking strong.
J.P. Morgan chimed in too, pointing out that global oil demand has only climbed by 850,000 barrels per day so far this year. That’s less than their original 900,000 bpd prediction. The bank also flagged weak U.S. consumption, with travel and freight staying sluggish.
On top of that, Saudi Aramco just slashed December crude prices for Asian buyers, a pretty clear sign they see the market getting even more oversupplied soon. No surprise the WTI oil price news keeps trending bearish.
