“Oil prices fall on weak Chinese demand Brent and WTI crude both fell 0.9% on weak Chinese demand and a 4.6% decline in refining. The IEA predicts an excess of supply over demand until 2025, despite the reduction of OPEC+.”, — write on: unn.ua
Details
Brent crude oil futures fell by 65 cents, or 0.9%, to $71.91 per barrel at 06:50 Kyiv time. WTI crude futures fell 62 cents, or 0.9%, to $68.08.
For the week, Brent is expected to fall by 2.7% and WTI by 3.3%.
“While oil prices have stabilized somewhat near the $71.00 support level this week, the lack of a concrete catalyst for upside suggests that price recovery remains sluggish for now,” Yip Jun Rong, market strategist at IG, said in an email.
The prospect of higher supplies from the U.S. and OPEC+, as well as doubts about China’s economic recovery, remain concerns, while the chances of a rate cut in December are now “closer to a coin flip” under a less dovish Federal Reserve policy, the economist added.
China’s refineries processed 4.6 percent less oil in October than a year earlier, the seventh straight month of annual decline, amid some refinery shutdowns and lower operating performance at smaller independent refiners, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed in the prison
The deceleration came as China’s industrial output slowed last month, and problems with demand in the real estate sector showed no sign of abating, despite rising consumer spending, government data showed.
Oil prices also fell this week as major forecasters indicated market fundamentals remained subdued.
Addition
The International Energy Agency predicts global oil supply will outstrip demand in 2025, even if cuts by OPEC+, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia, persist as output growth in the U.S. and other producers outpaces sluggish demand .
The Paris agency raised its forecast for demand growth in 2024 by 60,000 barrels to 920,000 bpd and left its forecast for oil demand growth in 2025 unchanged at 990,000 bpd.
OPEC this week cut its forecast for global oil demand growth for this year and 2025, highlighting weaknesses in China, India and other regions, the fourth consecutive downward revision by the producer group to its 2024 forecast.