(Reuters) – Crude oil prices held near two-week lows, a day after OPEC lowered its forecast for global crude demand growth in 2024 and 2025 amid concerns about demand in China .
At 12.42 pm Italian time, Brent futures were up 28 cents, or 0.39%, at 72.17 dollars a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures recorded an increase of 28 cents, or by 0.40%, to 68.39 dollars a barrel.
Yesterday OPEC revised its global crude demand growth forecast for this year and next, citing weakness in China, India and other regions. This is the fourth consecutive downward revision for 2024 by the producers association.
Crude oil prices rose 0.1% following the news, following a 5% decline in the previous two sessions.
Also in the foreground are data from the American Petroleum Institute. Analysts polled by Reuters expect a 100,000 barrel increase in crude inventories for the week ended Nov. 8.
(Translated by Claudio Leonel Piacquadio, editing Stefano Bernabei)