Oil prices were little changed in Asian trade on Thursday as forecasts of weak demand and a higher-than-expected rise in U.S. gasoline and distillate inventories stemmed gains from an additional round of EU sanctions threatening Russian oil flows.
Brent crude futures were up 14 cents at $73.66 a barrel at 0519 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 6 cents to $70.35. Both benchmarks rose over $1 each on Wednesday.
OPEC cut its demand growth forecasts for 2025 for the fifth straight month on Wednesday and by the largest amount yet.
"Investors will be closely monitoring the IEA's market balance estimates for 2025, which will reflect OPEC's recent announcement," analysts at ANZ said in a note on Thursday.
In the world's top oil consumer, the United States, gasoline and distillate inventories rose by more than expected last week, according to data from the Energy Information Administration.
Weak demand, particularly in top importer China, and non-OPEC+ supply growth were two factors behind the move. However, investors anticipate a rise in Chinese demand, after Beijing unveiled plans this week to adopt an "appropriately loose" monetary policy in 2025, which could spur oil demand.
Global oil demand rose at a slower-than-expected rate this month, but has remained resilient, analysts at JPMorgan said in a note on Thursday.
"Growth (in oil demand) over the past week has been tempered by a slight reduction in jet fuel consumption across much of the world," the note read.
Chinese crude imports also grew annually for the first time in seven months in November, up more than 14% from a year earlier.(Cay) Newsmaker23
Source: Investing.com
Oil prices stabilized on Thursday (February 12th), as the market reassigned a risk premium to US-Iran tensions despite US inventory data showing swelling domestic supplies. This movement confirms one ...
Oil prices rose on Wednesday (February 11th), supported by a combination of geopolitical risk premiums from US-Iran tensions and more solid Asian demand signals particularly from India which helped ea...
Oil remained in the green zone on Tuesday (February 10th), as the market refused to abandon the Middle East risk premium. As of 13:07 GMT (20:07 WIB), Brent rose +0.4% to $69.32/barrel, while WTI rose...
Oil prices fell about 1% on Monday as concerns about conflict in the Middle East eased slightly. The market calmed after the US and Iran agreed to resume talks on Tehran's nuclear program, reducing fe...
Oil prices moved slightly higher in a volatile session on Friday, as investors assessed the direction of nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran. Price movements appeared sensitive to ...
Oil prices stabilized on Thursday (February 12th), as the market reassigned a risk premium to US-Iran tensions despite US inventory data showing swelling domestic supplies. This movement confirms one thing: geopolitical headlines are still more...
Gold prices weakened slightly on Thursday (February 12th), as more solid US employment data reduced market confidence in an imminent Federal Reserve interest rate cut. The strong employment data prompted market participants to shift expectations of...
The Hang Seng Index reversed its downward trend in Hong Kong on Thursday (February 12th), weakening by around 0.9% to around 27,000 after a strong session earlier. This decline halted the momentum of the short term rally, as investors began to...