Oil Prices Climb to $46 Amid Continued Energy Market Volatility

Oil prices have reached $46 per barrel in New York trading on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Oil prices closed up 2 percent in New York trading on Wednesday at $46 per barrel, following a pattern of price volatility in recent weeks.

Over the past three days, crude oil prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange increased 27 percent, wiping out major losses experienced the previous week when oil prices dipped below $39 per barrel.

The rally in oil prices followed the release of the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) weekly petroleum status report on Wednesday morning showing a 4.7 million barrel increase in US commercial crude oil inventories over the previous week.

Despite the global drop in oil prices, which has remained below $50 since mid-July, the United States continues to weigh the option of eliminating its 40-year ban on crude oil exports.

Lifting the export ban would likely depress global oil prices while stimulating US domestic production, according to the EIA report.

The recent months’ decline in energy prices followed news of slowing economic growth and market turbulence in China, and pending sanctions relief for Iran, as well as continued output from OPEC nations.