Oil prices rose on Thursday, but were unable to claw back the more than 9 percent decline during the previous three days as demand concerns in major consumers overrode signals that the US may pause its interest rates increases.
Brent futures rose 50 cents, or 0.7 percent, to USD 72.83 a barrel. Since Friday, however, Brent has dropped more than 9 percent and earlier on Thursday fell to as low as USD 71.28.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 28 cents, or 0.4 percent, to USD 68.88 a barrel. WTI dropped almost 11 percent from Friday to Wednesday’s close and earlier on Thursday fell to as low as USD 63.64, the lowest since Dec. 2, 2021.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, started voluntary output cuts of around 1.16 million barrels per day at the beginning of this month and those are expected to support the market going forward into the summer peak demand period.
Chinese demand concerns continue to weigh on the market especially after a private sector survey showed on Thursday that factory activity unexpectedly dipped in April due to softer domestic demand.
Source: Qatar News Agency