Brent collapsed below $77 per barrel

Last night, the oil market showed a sharp decline from the area of $81 per barrel to $76.60. The driver of the decline was fresh data from the US Department of Energy on crude oil reserves in the country. 

On Friday, Brent managed to recover somewhat after the fall, and the current quote of the asset is $77.50 per barrel. North American WTI crude is trading today near $73 per barrel after falling to a low of $72.25. 

The market is influenced by factors such as the weakening of the global economy and the preservation of high oil reserves in the United States. The Ministry of Energy of the country reported a significant increase in oil reserves over the past two weeks – by 17.5 million barrels. Gasoline and distillate stocks decreased by 7.9 and 4.7 million barrels in two weeks, respectively. 

Analysts note that the fall in oil prices is caused by traders' concerns about the prospects for demand. They also pointed to data on a decline in industrial production in the United States in October, which was a signal of the weakness of the American economy and a possible decrease in oil demand.

The volume of industrial production in the United States in October fell by 0.6% compared to the previous month. This decrease was the maximum in 4 months.