Oil prices stabilized on Wednesday after falling for two straight days on concerns that slowing economic growth and rising Middle East output would extend a global supply overhang, Reuters reported.
International Brent crude futures LCOc1 were trading at $44.95 per barrel at 12.45 a.m. ET, down 2 cents from their last settlement, according to Reuters.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were up 7 cents at $43.72 a barrel.
This followed two trading sessions in which Brent fell nearly 7% and WTI nearly 5% from end-April levels, with crude pulled down on news about rising output from the Middle East and renewed signs of economic slowdown in Asia, according to the report.
”Asia`s big markets continue to disappoint: Japan sank further, China relapsed, and India slipped,” said Frederic Neumann of HSBC in Hong Kong.
In the United States, the economy is also stuttering, the report reads.
In oil production, U.S. output has fallen from a peak of over 9.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in summer last year to just over 8.9 million bpd currently. However, the country`s crude inventories rose by 1.3 million barrels in the week to April 29 to 539.7 million barrels, according to data from the American Petroleum Institute, enough to meet global demand for almost a week, according to the report.
Still, strong demand for refined products reduced stockpiles of gasoline, diesel and heating oil.
Thanks to ongoing strong demand and further expectations of U.S. production cuts oil prices would likely rise in the short-term, BMI Research said on Wednesday, Reuters writes.
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