powerballtonight|原油交易提醒：美国库存意外飙升+中东停火协议希望增强，美原油失守80关口

Huitong Financial App-US crude oil hovered near a seven-week low in early Asian trading on Thursday (May 2). Oil prices plunged about 3 per cent on Wednesday to their lowest since March 12 on the back of an unexpected increase in US crude inventories, the prospect of a cease-fire in the Middle East and diminished hopes that a near-term cut in US interest rates could boost oil demand. July Brent crude oil futures closed at 83 a barrel on WednesdayPowerballtonight.44 US dollars, down 2.89 US dollars, or 3.4%, from Tuesday's closing price. That is about 5.0 per cent lower than the closing price of the Brent contract on Tuesday in June, when the contract was still in recent months, which would be the biggest one-day percentage decline since October.

Us crude oil futures fell $2.93, or 3.6%, to close at $79.00 a barrel on Wednesday, losing two key supports at the 200-day moving average of 80.16 and 80.

This is the lowest closing price of crude oil futures for these two indicators since March 12, and for the first time since December 2023, these two indicators are in the technology oversold area.

In other energy markets, US diesel futures closed at their lowest level since July 2023, while US gasoline futures closed at a seven-week low.

Energy companies unexpectedly added 7.3 million barrels of crude oil in the week to April 26, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). By contrast, analysts expect inventories to fall by 1.1 million barrels, while crude oil stocks rose by 4.9 million barrels last week, according to the American Petroleum Institute (API), an industry group.

EIA also reported an unexpected increase of 300000 barrels in gasoline stocks. Analysts expect gasoline inventories to fall by 1.1 million barrels.

"crude oil production is very high," said Bob Yawger, director of Mizuho Energy Futures. At this time of year, as more crude oil passes through the refineryPowerballtonightWe should reduce the consumption of crude oil.

In the Middle East, with renewed push from the United States and Egypt, there is growing hope for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. Nevertheless, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to launch a long-promised offensive against the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Olle Hansen of Saxo Bank said: "continued hopes of a cease-fire have dragged down the oil market."

ANZ analysts said: "A possible cease-fire between Israel and Hamas has allayed concerns about escalating conflicts and possible supply disruptions, and persistent signs of inflation have raised concerns about crude oil demand.

The Federal Reserve said it kept interest rates unchanged and said it was still inclined to eventually lower borrowing costs, but raised the red flag over recent disappointing inflation data.

The Fed's latest policy statement does point to "some easing in inflation", but any delay in cutting interest rates could slow economic growth and dampen demand for oil.

Us job openings fell to their lowest level in three years in March, while the number of resignations fell, in signs of loosening labour market conditions that could help the Fed fight inflation over time.

Job openings, which measure labor demand, fell by 325000 to 8.488 million on the last day of March, the lowest level since February 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Wednesday. In February, the number of vacancies was slightly revised up to 8.813 million, compared with a previous value of 8.756 million.

Economists had expected 8.686 million job openings in March. The number of job openings reached a record 12 million in March 2022. There were 1.32 job openings for each unemployed person in March and 1.36 in February. The index averaged 1.19 in 2019, suggesting that the labour market is cooling and could be a drag on the outlook for crude oil demand.

The vacancy rate fell to 5.1 per cent from 5.3 per cent in February, the lowest since January 2021. Recruitment decreased by 281000 to 5.5 million. The recruitment rate fell to 3.5 per cent from 3.7 per cent in February.

This trading day will announce the change in the number of initial jobless claims in the United States, the US trade account in March, the number of corporate layoffs in Challenger in April, and the monthly rate of factory orders in March, which investors need to focus on. In addition, pay attention to the speeches that Fed officials will make one after another.

In addition, we need to pay attention to the US non-farm payrolls report for April and further news on the geopolitical situation in the Middle East, which will be released on Friday.

At 08:39 Beijing time, US crude oil is now trading at US $79.21 per ounce.