CVX, SHEL, BP: Oil Prices Recover as U.S. Crude Inventories Decline

Oil prices are up more than 1% on Aug. 20 amid reports of a decline in U.S. crude inventories.

Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, was up 1.64% in late-day trading at $66.90 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil, the U.S. standard, gained 1.27% to trade at $63.14 per barrel. The rise comes after the American Petroleum Institute reported a drop in U.S. crude inventories.

Crude prices had fallen in recent days on optimism that an agreement to end the Russia-Ukraine war seemed close. However, U.S. President Donald Trump has indicated that Russian President Vladimir Putin might not want to make a deal to stop the war, raising the prospect that sanctions on Russian crude oil will remain in place.

The rise in crude oil prices has stocks of oil majors such as Chevron (CVX), Shell (SHEL), and British Petroleum (BP) trending higher.

Dwindling U.S. Supply

U.S. crude stocks declined by 2.42 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 19, according to the American Petroleum Institute. That drawdown came as flooding at a large U.S. refinery impacted oil flows, necessitating that America’s crude reserves be tapped.

At the same time, U.S. President Donald Trump has said he is trying to arrange a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to be followed by a trilateral summit among the three leaders. Russia has not confirmed that it will take part in talks with Zelenskiy directly.

Is CVX Stock a Buy?

The stock of Chevron has a consensus Moderate Buy rating among 15 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 11 Buy and four Hold recommendations issued in the last three months. The average CVX price target of $171.33 implies 10.31% upside from current levels.

Read more analyst ratings on CVX stock

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