Oil prices close with losses; WTI falls 1.53%

Oil prices closed lower as shipments of Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary resumed and rising Covid-19 cases in China weighed on sentiment.

The futures of Brent crude oil US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down $1, or 1.07%, at $92.86 a barrel.WTI) fell $1.33, or 1.53%, to $85.59 a barrel.

Prices fell after Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said flows through the Druzhba pipeline from Russia had resumed after a brief interruption.

Supply to parts of Eastern and Central Europe through a section of the pipeline was temporarily suspended on Tuesday for technical reasons, according to pipeline operators in Hungary and Slovakia.

The market was supported by a larger than expected decline in US crude oil inventories. According to the Energy Information Administration, US crude inventories fell 5.4 million barrels last week, versus expectations for a 440,000-barrel drop.

Prices were also supported by a report from Petro-Logistics, which indicated that exports from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have fallen significantly so far this month.

Both crude benchmarks had rallied early in the session after an oil tanker was attacked off the coast of Oman on Tuesday, sustaining minor damage, highlighting geopolitical risks on the world’s busiest routes. world for oil shipments.

“Various geopolitical influences – from the hit of an oil tanker by a bomb-carrying drone off the coast of Oman, to tensions with Russia – are largely being discarded in favor of a focus on more bearish elements, such as the weak Chinese economic data and demand,” said Matt Smith, oil analyst at Kpler.

In China, the increase in cases of Covid-19 weighed on sentiment after an easing of virus restrictions this week.

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