By Nicole Jao and Gabrielle Ng
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices fell on Friday on signs that demand in China, the world’s largest crude importer, continues to underperform amid its uneven economic recovery.
Futures were down 65 cents, or 0.9%, at $71.91 a barrel by 0450 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures fell 62 cents, or 0.9%, to $68.08.
For the week, Brent is expected to fall 2.7%, while WTI is expected to fall 3.3%.
“While oil prices have stabilized somewhat around the $71.00 support level this week, the lack of a concrete bullish catalyst suggests that the price recovery remains tepid for now,” he said in a statement. email Yeap Jun Rong, IG market strategist.
The prospect of higher supplies from the US and OPEC+, along with doubts over China’s economic recovery, remain a cause for concern, while the odds of a rate cut in December are now ‘closer to a release’ currency” under a less dovish Federal Reserve, Yeap added.
China’s oil refineries processed 4.6% less crude in October than a year earlier, falling year-on-year for the seventh month, amid the closure of some plants and reduced operating rates at smaller independent refineries, according to data from the National Statistics Office showed. Friday.
The decline in run rates came as China’s factory output growth slowed last month and demand problems in its real estate sector showed little sign of abating even as consumer spending rose, they showed. government data.
Oil prices also fell this week as leading forecasters indicated market fundamentals remained bearish.
The International Energy Agency forecasts that global oil supply will exceed demand in 2025 even if cuts by OPEC+, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia, remain in place, as production increases. from the US and other external producers overcome sluggish demand. .
The Paris-based agency raised its 2024 oil demand growth forecast by 60,000 barrels per day to 920,000 bpd, and left its 2025 oil demand growth forecast little changed at 990,000 bpd.
OPEC this week cut its forecast for global oil demand growth for this year and 2025, highlighting weakness in China, India and other regions, marking the producer group’s fourth consecutive downward revision of its 2024 outlook. .
Inventories rose last week by 2.1 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Thursday, much more than analysts’ expectations for a 750,000-barrel increase.
Gasoline stocks fell 4.4 million barrels last week to their lowest level since November 2022, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a rise of 600,000 barrels. Distillate stocks, which include diesel and diesel, also unexpectedly fell by 1.4 million barrels, the data showed.