Oil prices slipped on Thursday as lacklustre Chinese consumption signalled weaker demand from the world’s biggest crude importer, outweighing support from Wednesday’s data showing large draws on U.S. oil inventories.
Brent crude futures for September fell 91 cents, or 1.1%, to $80.80 a barrel by 1315 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for September slid 85 cents, or 1.1%, to $76.74.
Both benchmarks fell by more than $1 per barrel during the session.
Oil had risen on Wednesday, snapping consecutive sessions of declines after the Energy Information Administration said U.S. crude inventories fell by more than expected to 3.7 million barrels last week.
Oil prices rise off six-week lows as US fuel stocks decline
U.S. gasoline stocks dropped by 5.6 million barrels, against analyst expectations of a 400,000-barrel draw.
“Despite draws in U.S. crude and gasoline stocks, investors remained wary about weakening demand in China and expectations of advancing ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas added to pressure,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, president of NS Trading, owned by Nissan Securities.
China’s oil imports and refinery runs this year have trended lower than in 2023 on weaker fuel demand amid sluggish economic growth, government data shows.
“Growing concerns over the strength of oil demand in the short to medium term have acquired a strong grip on market sentiment,” said Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insight.
In the Middle East, efforts to reach a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza between Israel and militant group Hamas have gained momentum over the past month. A breakthrough could erode lingering threats to supply and send prices lower.
“With continued, and according to some sources, conciliatory developments in Gaza peace talks, oil prices are finding it increasingly hard to hang on to intermittent rallies,” said John Evans, analyst at oil broker PVM in a note.
However, keeping investors on their toes, Israeli forces advanced deeper into some towns on the eastern side of Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Thursday, hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. lawmakers he was actively engaged in bringing hostages home.
The U.S. Federal Reserve, meanwhile, is still expected to introduce a first round of interest rate cuts in September, after fresh data on Thursday showed U.S. economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter, but inflation subsided.
Lower interest rates should spur economic growth, leading to more oil consumption.
In Canada, hundreds of wildfires are burning in the western provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, including in the area of oil sands hub, Fort McMurray.
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