Commodity Update March 18, 2021: Oil Prices Continue to Decline as U.S. Reserve Surges

Commodity update as of 9:36 local time in Thailand on March 18, 2021

Crude oil, even though at a higher level, continued to decline as the US Government’s Energy Administration (EIA) reported a 2.4mn barrel increase in the U.S. crude oil reserves for the week ending March 12, representing a 4 straight weeks increase as U.S. economic activities started to recover from the pandemic. However, EIA expected the world market to return to the pre-pandemic level in 2023.