Oil prices, which fell nearly 4% on Wednesday, rose slightly on Thursday. It has found some support after heavy losses in the previous two sessions from fears of a US recession and a surge in Russian oil exports that dampened the impact of OPEC production cuts.
Brent crude was up 32 cents, or 0.4%, at 0627 GMT to $78.01 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) added 21 cents, or 0.3% traded at $74.51.
Oil prices fell almost 4% on Wednesday, extending their sharp losses from the previous session as fears of a recession overshadowed the larger-than-expected drop in US crude inventories.
As of Wednesday’s close, Brent fell 4.9% for the week, while WTI lost 4.6%.
It seems that OPEC was right to cut production earlier this month. Both benchmarks have dropped below $80 and crude oil prices remain heavy as demand slumps a lot, impacting the US economic outlook. In this case, the only thing that can provide some support in oil’s search for the ground is technical buying.
New orders and shipments for core capital goods manufactured in the US fell sharply in March, more than expected. This suggests that dwindling spending on equipment likely pulled back economic growth in the first quarter.
OPEC’s share of India’s oil imports slumped to a 22-year low due to an increase in purchases of cheaper Russian oil and China’s accelerating Russian purchase of Ural oil.
Despite Moscow’s commitment to cut production, oil shipments from Russia’s western ports will hit more than 2.4 million barrels per day in April, the highest level since 2019.
