2023-08-16 11:37:14
Brent crude futures fell slightly to $84.82 a barrel
Posted on: August 16, 2023: 08:04 AM GST Last updated: August 16, 2023: 03:37 PM GST
Oil prices were little changed on Wednesday as investors equated the impact of concerns regarding the Chinese economy with expectations of tight supplies from the United States.
Brent crude futures fell slightly by seven cents to $84.82 a barrel by 10:11 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell eight cents to $81.91 a barrel.
The two benchmarks fell more than 1% to their lowest levels since August 8 on Tuesday.
China’s economy is in the spotlight following data on retail sales, industrial output and investment showed numbers below expectations, stoking concerns regarding a deeper and longer-term slowdown in growth.
The data prompted some economists to point out the risks that China, the world’s largest oil importer, may find it difficult to achieve its growth target of regarding 5% for this year without more fiscal stimulus.
The OPEC + bloc and the International Energy Agency are counting on China to revive demand for crude for the remainder of this year.
Meanwhile, US crude inventories fell by regarding 6.2 million barrels last week, according to market sources citing data from the American Petroleum Institute. This was a much larger decline than the estimate of analysts polled by Archyde.com for a decline of 2.3 million barrels.
1692190105
#Oil #stabilizes #Chinese #growth #concerns #offset #impact #supply #tightening #expectations
