The recent rally in oil prices looked to be running out of steam last week, with the relentless build in global inventories outweighing market optimism about Opec plans for a production freeze. International benchmark Brent added $1.78 per barrel over the week, closing at $37.07/bbl Thursday, but the biggest gains were seen at the start of the week. It was the same for US price pin WTI, which put on $3.26/bbl after closing down slightly on the day Thursday at $36.33/bbl. US crude stocks hit a new all-time high of 528 million bbl after building 10.4 million bbl in the week to Feb. 26. US government data showed tanks at WTI’s Cushing price point nudging a new record 66.3 million bbl at the same time with market intelligence firm Genscape showing a further build to 68.7 million bbl by Mar. 1. Oil prices have risen more than 30% in less than two months after hitting 12-year lows of $26-$27/bbl in January. The rally was fueled by Opec plans to freeze production at January levels but analysts say the rebound has come too soon given the overhang of oil being held in storage.
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