WTI Oil Edges Up from a Two-Week Low Despite Weak China Demand as U.S Inventories Fall
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil closed with a small gain on Thursday rising off a two-week low as geopolitical worries ease as a report showed an unexpected drop in U.S. inventories last week.
WTI crude for November delivery closed up US$0.28 to settle at US$70.67 per barrel, while December Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen up US$0.24 to US$74.46.
Prices fell to the lowest since Oct.2 on Wednesday on easing worries an expected retaliatory attack on Iran for its Oct.1 missile strike on Israel would target oil infrastructure after reports said Israel plans to only attack Iranian military assets.
In its weekly survey, the Energy Information Administration said U.S. oil inventories fell by 2.2-million barrels last week, above the consensus estimate for a rise of 1.8-million barrels among analysts polled by Reuters.
Still, weak demand from China and the December start to OPEC+'s plan to restore 2.2-million bpd of production cuts with monthly supply additions of 180,000-barrels per day for a year are also keeping a check on prices.
"Crude oil remains rangebound as demand worries, especially in China, a country at the forefront of electrification, and the prospect of increased OPEC+ supply offsetting a potential threat to Middle East supplies," Saxo Bank noted.
Source : MT Newswires
