EIA Weekly Inventory Data Due Wednesday, Despite Govt. Shutdown

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be releasing its weekly energy inventory data as scheduled on Wednesday, despite the ongoing government shutdown, according to a new report by MarketWatch.

The agency is "continuing normal data collection and publications schedules until further notice,” a spokesman told the news site. The EIA will be "able to operate for a short period of time during the lapse in appropriations.”

The Senate passed a stopgap bill on Monday afternoon to keep the government functional through February 8th, though the House still needs to approve the temporary measure. President Donald Trump will then need to sign off on it. The bill in the Senate passed 81-18, with solid blue states voting against the reopening of the federal government.

"I think if we've learned anything during this process it's that a strategy to shut down the government over the issue of illegal immigration is something that the American people didn't understand," Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said of the Democratic strategy to protect Dreamers from the Trump administration’s deportation plans.

After the 2013 government shutdown, the EIA had halted the release of official American inventory data and other publications on its website.

Amid emerging doubts that OPEC and Russia have outdone themselves with the oil production cuts and are starting to suffer the consequences, the EIA had reported another large draw in oil inventories last week. At 6.9 million barrels, the draw was significant enough to support a further price rise for WTI.

Some analysts are warning that in this higher-price environment, OPEC and Russia may reconsider their cut strategy for this year and agree to phase the deal out earlier than the December 2018 expiry date, although today Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said that OPEC’s cooperation outside the group may continue after end-2018.

By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com

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