Tokyo/Beijing — Oil prices rose on Thursday as oversupply concerns eased, after closing at two-week lows in the prior session on weaker demand.
Brent crude futures were up 17c, or 0.27%, to $63.69 a barrel at 4.55am GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were up 18c, or 0.3%, to $59.78.
Global oil prices fell a third consecutive month in October on fears of oversupply as oil cartel Opec and its allies increased output while production from non-Opec producers is also still growing.
After US and British sanctions on Russia’s biggest oil companies two weeks ago tempered the market’s aggressive bearish stance, however, there was a shift in oil price momentum at the end of October, Haitong Securities said.
Opec+’s plan to pause further production increases in the first quarter of next year also partly eased worries about oversupply, Haitong Securities said.
Concern over weaker demand, though, still remains.
Year-to-date to November 4, global oil demand has risen 850,000 barrels a day (bbl/day), below growth of 900,000bbl/day projected earlier by JpMorgan, the bank said in a client note.
“High-frequency indicators suggest that US oil consumption remains subdued,” the note said, pointing to weak travel activity and lower container shipments.
In the previous session, oil prices fell after the US Energy Information Administration said US crude stocks rose by 5.2-million barrels to 421.2-million barrels last week, compared with expectations for a 603,000-barrel rise.
“We think that downward pressure on oil prices will prevail, supporting our below-consensus forecast of $60 a barrel by end-2025 and $50 a barrel by end-2026,” Capital Economics said in a note.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, sharply reduced the prices of its crude for Asian buyers in December, responding to a well-supplied market as Opec+ producers ramp up production.
Reuters
