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First Look - Crude Awaits Stockpile Signals, Gas Races Into Expiry

Oil edges higher as traders watch India and stockpiles
- The WTI prompt-month contract added $0.23 to trade at $63.48/Bbl Wednesday morning (7:45 AM CT)
- Prices recovered a portion of Tuesday’s losses as the market awaited fresh US inventory data and weighed the impact of higher US tariffs on Indian goods
- API data showed U.S. crude stockpiles slipped by 1 MMBbls last week, with Cushing also lower. Official EIA figures are due later Wednesday
- President Trump praised prices “down close to $60/Bbl,” adding that they could “break that pretty soon”
Transportation fuel demand remains short of pre-pandemic norms (EIA)
- Gasoline, distillate, and jet fuel consumption all remain below pre-COVID averages, five years after the national emergency declaration
- Several factors are keeping a lid on demand: improved vehicle and aircraft efficiency has offset higher travel activity, while biomass-based fuels have replaced some petroleum-based distillates

Regional Market Insights

Updated regularly with the most important market moves and outlooks.

Natural gas rises for a second day, ahead of contract expiry
- Prompt gas prices have turned higher in the past few days, with the September contract near $2.78/MMbtu (8:00 AM)
- The September contract expires today, making October the prompt Henry Hub contract
- Demand continues to look weaker than average for the next two weeks, which should support strong storage builds
Orsted ordered to stop work on offshore wind project (S&P)
- The US has ordered work on the 704-MW Revolution Wind project to halt, with the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management saying this will “allow time for it to address concerns that have arisen"
- 45 of 65 turbines have already been installed and Orsted has been targeting completion of the project in the second half of 2026
- This order follows President Trump’s executive order earlier this year which halted new offshore wind projects