Oil prices, which had been in the green due to fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Iran, lost ground again on Wednesday after a slight increase in crude inventories in the United States.
The price of a barrel of North Sea Brent crude oil, for delivery in October, fell 1.15% to US$79.76.
Its US equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), for delivery in September, fell 1.74% to US$76.98.
The price trend changed direction after last week’s announcement of a slight increase in US crude oil inventories, contrary to expectations, which is unfavourable for prices.
Weekly U.S. crude oil inventories rose 1.4 million barrels to 430.7 million barrels in the week ending Aug. 9. The median forecast for a further draw of 2 million barrels, according to Bloomberg.
Gasoline stocks, meanwhile, fell by 2.9 million barrels, not far from expectations.
For Andy Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates, the market also continued to react to the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts released on Tuesday, which reduce the pace of growth in energy demand.worldwide, but especially in China”.
“Global demand is expected to grow by less than 1 million barrels per day in 2024 and 2025″below the pre-pandemic growth trend, the IEA forecast, keeping its July forecasts virtually unchanged in its monthly report.
Source: Gestion
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