Major flooding in the Midwest has interfered with crude oil flows from the country’s main storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, temporarily pushing prices higher, Reuters reports. “Flooding seems to have impacted distribution hubs around the United States, slowing stuff coming out of Cushing and creating a bid on WTI,” a market strategist with a Chicago broker told Reuters.
Since the beginning of May, according to the National Weather Service, part of Oklahoma have seen rainfall of up to 19 inches and there is more on the way, which means the interference with oil flows from Cushing as well as other regional storage hubs will persist.