Yesterday, oil markets mainly recovered, after the markets learned that crude oil stockpiles decreased.
The Energy Information Administration reported that crude oil inventories diminished by 2 million barrels in the week ending September 25, while analysts foresaw it to increase by 1.4 million barrels. On the other hand, gasoline inventories increased by 2.325 million barrels, while distillate fuel inventories declined by 3.2 million barrels.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures gained 2.37 percent during the session, closing at the 40.22 level. On the other hand, Brent oil futures dropped by 0.19 percent, closing the session at the 40.95 level.
So far 34,170,335 COVID-19 cases have been reported around the world, as well as a death toll of 1,018,899. The United States leads in the number of infections, with 7,447,693 total cases as well as 211,752 total deaths, followed by India, Brazil, and Russia. Cases are surging in several countries, like Spain, the UK, Israel, and the Netherlands.
The US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told a news outlet that he expects to reach a deal with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi regarding a stimulus package that would benefit American citizens that have been affected by the advance of the sanitary crisis. The house delayed the vote on a $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus to allow talks to advance.
"We have reached an agreement that if there is a deal, there are direct payments similar to last time that are in the package," said Mnuchin after a meeting he held with the House Speaker, adding that the government is looking to provide extra federal aid to small businesses and schools, as well as funding for coronavirus testing and tracing.
The US stock markets closed Wednesday's session in the positive territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.20 percent during the session, closing at the 27,781.70 level, while the S&P 500 went up by 0.83 percent, hitting the 3,363.00 level at the end of the session. The Nasdaq 100 gained 0.84 percent during the session, closing at the 11,418.06 level, while the NYSE Composite remained steady during the session, closing at the 12,701.89 level.