Oil rises due to falling inventories in the US; Fears about Chinese demand persist

Los oil prices They rose on Wednesday after data suggested a larger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude inventories, but gains were capped by growing concerns about demand in China and a snowstorm expected to affect travel. in United States.

crude oil futures Brent they were up 73 cents, or 0.9%, at $80.72 a barrel as of 0952 GMT. US crude oil futures West Texas Intermediate (WTI) were up 63 cents, or 0.8%, at $76.86.

US crude inventories fell by about 3.1 million barrels in the week to December 16, market sources said, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute. Nine analysts polled by Reuters had expected a fall of 1.7 million barrels. Official government data will be published at 15:30 GMT.

Weather forecasters predict large parts of the United States to experience heavy snowfall, likely causing flight delays and impassable roads during one of the busiest travel periods of the year, potentially reducing demand for oil.

Prices were also boosted by comments from Saudi Arabia’s energy minister, who said on Tuesday that the decision of the OPEC+ of cutting oil production, much criticized, had been successful.

The comments suggest that OPEC+ could continue to maintain a tight supply, said Tina Teng, an analyst at CMC Markets.

The concern for the increase in cases of Covid-19 in Chinaas the country begins to ease its zero COVID policy, prevented oil prices from rising.

However, Chinese crude oil imports from Russia in November rose 17% year-on-year as Chinese refiners scrambled to secure more cargoes ahead of a G7-imposed price cap and an EU embargo from 5 from December.

On the whole, Russian crude oil exports fell 11% month-on-month between December 1 and 20, after the European Union embargo came into force, the Kommersant daily reported citing unnamed sources.