U.S. crude oil supply growth exceeded expectations, Iranian oil returned to the market outlook optimistic, oil prices fell sharply!

On Wednesday (Oct.
27), U.
S.
crude inventories rose more than expected and oil prices fell further after Iran and the European Union agreed to restart negotiations on the 2015 nuclear deal by the end of next month
.
This suggests that the prospect of Iranian oil returning to the market is greater
.
U.
S.
WTI crude oil November futures were down 250 cents, or 2.
95%, at $82.
15 a barrel at press time; Brent December futures fell 203 cents, or 2.
37 percent, to $83.
62 a barrel
.

(U.
S.
WTI crude oil futures daily chart)

After a strong rally in recent weeks pushed both Brent crude and U.
S.
crude benchmarks to multi-year highs, a larger-than-expected rise in U.
S.
crude inventories gave some investors the impetus
to sell long positions.

According to the U.
S.
Energy Agency, crude oil inventories increased by 4.
3 million barrels last week, beating expectations of 1.
9 million barrels
.
Gasoline inventories fell by 2 million barrels to their lowest level in nearly four years as U.
S.
consumers grappled with rising prices to fill car tanks
.

Tanks at the WTI Delivery Center in Cushing, Oklahoma, are more depleted than they have been in the past three years, and the price of long-term futures contracts suggests that supply will remain at these levels
for several months.
The sell-off in Brent crude was more pronounced on Wednesday, as the discount between WTI and international benchmarks continued to narrow
as inventories fell sharply in the Cushing hub.

Fawad Razaqzada, a market analyst at ThinkMarkets, said that if the talks lead to an end to U.
S.
sanctions and an increase in Iranian oil exports, it could end "the threat of supply shortages, which has been part of the reason for the sharp rise in oil.
"

Louise Dickson, senior oil market analyst at Rystad Energy, said: "[some] countries are in the midst of a surge in Covid-19 cases in the fall, which poses a downside risk to near-term oil demand growth and could support weaker
oil prices.
" ”