Because of this, oil prices could rise sharply in the coming weeks.

Cushing's oil reserves are rapidly approaching critically low levels. In the first half of October, they fell by more than 4 million barrels to 31.2 million.

JPMorgan warns that the critical fill level of the largest US vault at 20 million barrels could be reached in the coming weeks.

The last time stocks were so low, the price of WTI crude oil was in excess of $ 100 a barrel.

According to Mizuho Securities USA, the rapid decline in oil reserves at Cushing is a much more important factor for the market than the dollar exchange rate or the dynamics of gas and coal prices.

Bloomberg calls the current situation with oil reserves shocking, since recently all oil storage facilities in the United States were filled to the limit, and traders were forced to store it in tankers anchored off the coast, writes Prime.

However, after the economic recovery in Asia, the situation changed dramatically: demand for light American oil jumped up, since it turned out to be the cheapest.

In addition, the global energy crisis has increased the attractiveness of light oil with a low sulfur content, the processing of which does not require the use of hydrocracking technology. This is an important factor today, as hydrocracking requires hydrogen, which is usually obtained from natural gas, which has surged this year.

Morgan Stanley last week raised its 1Q2022 Brent price forecast to $ 95. Goldman Sachs said it could revise its previous forecast for oil prices at $ 90 by the end of the year.