Oil prices stabilized on Thursday after falling the day before on signals that the supply of crude oil on the market exceeds demand.
Data from the American Petroleum Institute (API), released on Wednesday night, showed an increase in US stocks last week by 1.837 million barrels. In particular, stocks increased at the Cushing terminal, where oil traded on the Nymex is stored.
The official data on energy reserves will be released by the US Department of Energy on Thursday at 18:00 p.m. If confirmed, the increase in Cushing oil reserves will be recorded for the tenth consecutive week, which will be the longest period of continuous growth since 2016.
The cost of February futures for Brent oil on the London ICE Futures exchange as of 7:20 a.m. amounted to $79.61 per barrel, which is $0.04 (0.05%) lower than at the close of the previous trading. As a result of trading on Wednesday, these contracts fell by $1.42 (1.8%) to $79.65 per barrel.
Futures for WTI for February in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) fell by $0.09 (0.12%) to $74.02 per barrel. The day before, the value of contracts fell by $1.46 (1.9%) to $74.11 per barrel.
Concerns about the outlook for demand, especially in China, are growing, says CIBC Private Wealth analyst Rebecca Babin, quoted by Market Watch. Oil consumption in China, which was quite high in the first three quarters of this year, is weakening, she notes.
“Lack of confidence in the prospects for the Chinese economy in 2024 is the main factor that worries market participants,” Babin said. – “The second most important factor is the possibility that US production will exceed forecasts, as it did in 2023.
