LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices regained some of their gains on Thursday after falling to six-month lows the day before, but investors remained concerned about slowing demand in the United States and China.
By 1235 GMT, Brent crude futures rose 52 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $74.82 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 42 cents, or 0.6%, to $69.80 per barrel.
“With the largest global oil importer (China) no longer thirsting for crude, pressure remains on prices as the largest producer, the United States, continues to be the main producer,” said John Evans, an analyst at PVM Oil.
Analysts at ANZ Bank said in a note that the market was spooked in the previous session by data that showed US production remained near record high levels despite falling inventories.
US gasoline inventories rose by 5.4 million barrels last week to 223.6 million barrels, far exceeding expectations for a 1 million barrel increase, Energy Information Administration data showed on Wednesday.
Concerns about the Chinese economy also limited oil price gains.
Chinese customs data showed that crude oil imports in November fell 9% from a year earlier, as high inventory levels, weak economic indicators and slowing demand from independent refiners dampened demand.
While China’s total imports fell month-on-month, exports grew for the first time in six months in November, suggesting that the manufacturing sector may be starting to benefit from rising global trade flows.
Moody’s placed Hong Kong, Macau and a large group of state-owned companies and banks in China under rating downgrade warnings on Wednesday, just one day after issuing a warning to downgrade China’s sovereign credit rating.
Oil prices have fallen by about 10% since the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, announced a voluntary production cut of 2.2 million barrels per day in the first quarter of next year.
Saudi Arabia and Russia, the world’s largest oil exporters, on Thursday called on all OPEC+ members to join an agreement on production cuts for the benefit of the global economy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met to discuss further cooperation in the field of oil prices on Wednesday.
OPEC+ member Algeria said on Wednesday that it does not rule out extending or deepening oil supply cuts, with oil prices falling to a new five-month low despite OPEC+ announcing cuts last week.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday that the group is ready to strengthen oil production cuts in the first quarter of 2024 to eliminate what he described as speculation and fluctuations.
Sources in OPEC+ and ship tracking companies told Reuters that Russia pledged to disclose more data on the volume of fuel refining and its exports after OPEC+ asked Moscow for more transparency about secret fuel shipments from numerous export points across the country.
Additional reporting by Colin Howe and Muyu Xu; Edited by Mark Potter and Jan Harvey
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.