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Oil prices ended the day largely unch, after a dump’n’pump early on along with all other assets, as investors weighed expectations for shrinking U.S. stockpiles against output hikes from the OPEC+ alliance this month.

“The market is being supported by the expectations for a draw,” said Andrew Lebow, senior partner at Commodity Research Group. Providing “a big help for U.S. markets, the deluge of Saudi crude has pretty much ended, and imports are getting back to somewhat normal.”

Additionally, as Bloomberg notes, crude stockpiles in the U.S. Gulf could start to swell again if more of the area’s refiners shut plants or cut operations to adjust to weak demand, as several have announced they’re considering this fall.

API

• Crude -4.264mm (-2.85mm exp)

• Cushing -590k

• Gasoline +4.991mm

• Distillates -964k

US Crude inventories drew-down more than expected for the 4th week in a row (-4.264mm) but gasoline stocks surged by the most since April…

Source: Bloomberg

WTI slipped on the surprise gasoline build…

But remains largely stuck in a range

“Crude just can’t seem to get out of range with any degree of vigor,” said Bill O’Grady, executive vice president at Confluence Investment Management in St. Louis. Bullish factors on one end “can’t get out of way of fears that demand is just going to be lost for good.”