Oil prices drop as investors evaluate Chinese data and OPEC expectations

2023-08-11 07:09:32

Oil prices

At a time when investors are studying optimistic demand expectations from “OPEC”

Dubai – Al Arabiya.net

Posted on: August 11, 2023: 08:39 AM GST Last updated: August 11, 2023: 11:09 AM GST

Oil prices fell slightly on Friday as investors weighed the optimistic demand outlook from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and at the same time mixed economic data from China.

Brent crude fell 15 cents to $86.25 a barrel by 06:22 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 11 cents to $82.71 a barrel.

The two benchmarks have been on the rise since June, with West Texas Intermediate crude trading on Thursday at its highest level this year and Brent crude hitting its best price since January.

“Oil markets may have reached the overbought zone after weeks of gains, although OPEC + production cuts and improved demand expectations are still bullish factors,” market analyst at CMC Markets, Tina Ting, told Archyde.com. .

On Thursday, OPEC said it expected global oil demand to rise by 2.25 million bpd in 2024, compared to an increase of 2.44 million bpd in 2023. Both forecasts were unchanged from last month.

“OPEC” stated that “strong” economic growth and continued improvement in China is expected to lead to an increase in oil consumption in 2024.

However, Ting also noted that “weak economic data from China and the decline in Wall Street weigh on risk sentiment, and a stronger dollar is also putting pressure on commodity prices.”

And while customs data showed crude oil imports rising year-on-year, China’s total exports fell 14.5% from a year ago, with monthly crude imports falling from near-record highs in June to their lowest since January.

Data this week also showed that China’s consumer price index fell and factory gate prices continued to fall in July, raising concerns about fuel demand in the world’s second-largest economy.