Oil is slightly more expensive on the back of rising demand in China, despite record stocks in the US
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Oil prices fluctuated on Thursday, February 9 as US inventories rose to a multi-month high.
It is reported Reuters.
How prices have changed
Brent crude futures rose 5 cents to $85.13 per barrel.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 2 cents to $78.45 a barrel.
Both benchmarks rose more than 6% this week, the agency said.
What affected the prices
“Crude oil inventories in the US continue to exceed expectations, undermining to some extent the positive sentiment caused by the hope of demand recovery in China,” Haitong Futures analysts said.
U.S. crude inventories rose last week to their highest level since June 2021, thanks to a rise in production, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
Gasoline and distillates stocks also increased last week due to weak demand.
Federal Reserve officials said Wednesday that further interest rate hikes are expected as the U.S. central bank continues its efforts to reduce inflation.
But the prospect of more demand from China supported oil prices as the world’s second-biggest oil consumer ended more than three years of strict coronavirus restrictions that included city-wide lockdowns and mass testing in December.
In total, this should boost global demand by 2.1 million barrels per day in 2023, analysts say.
Meanwhile, BP Azerbaijan declared a force majeure for the supply of Azerbaijani crude oil from the Turkish port of Ceyhan on February 7, after a strong earthquake struck Turkey and Syria early on Monday. The disaster halted work at Ceyhan and disrupted crude oil supplies from Iraq and Azerbaijan.
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