International benchmarks for crude oil inched lower on Friday, 12 July 2024 following a report from the University of Michigan that showed US consumer sentiment at eight-month lows despite inflation expectations improving.
International benchmarks for crude oil continued to gallop higher on Wednesday, 10 July following a report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showing another 3.4 million barrels drop in US commercial crude inventories.
Despite a rise in net imports by approximately 0.6 million barrels, higher refinery run rates helped absorb the additional supply. Refinery utilization rates increased by 1.9% from the previous week, reaching 95.4%.