2024-07-18 18:48:24
Oil prices were little changed in Asian trade today. Europe’s benchmark Brent crude is near a one-month low hit in the previous session, as signs of weakening demand growth in China offset the prospect of a drawdown in U.S. oil inventories, Reuters reported.
North Sea Brent futures for delivery a month down 4 cents to $83.69 a barrel. The price of US light crude also fell 4 cents to $80.72 a barrel.
Both contracts have fallen over the previous three sessions, with Brent futures trading at $83.30 a barrel yesterday, the lowest price level since June 17.
While concerns about oil demand in China continue to weigh on investor sentiment, the drawdown in US inventories is a factor limiting the decline in oil prices, said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Singapore-based brokerage Phillip Nova. Nova).
According to her, published yesterday “data on retail trade in the US indicate that the economy is still in good shape despite higher borrowing costs. This neutralizes fears of a slowdown in the US economy and fears of a reduction in oil demand”.
China, the world’s biggest oil importer, recorded annual economic growth of 4.7 percent in the second quarter, according to official data released earlier this week. This is the slowest growth for the Chinese economy since the first quarter of 2023.
Meanwhile, in the United States, the world’s top crude oil producer, inventories of the crude fell by 4.4 million barrels in the week ended July 12, market sources said, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute (API). .
A Reuters poll had expected U.S. crude inventories to fall by just 33,000 barrels.