Brent was worth $ 45.38 around 11:40 am in London, down 0.11% from Wednesday. In New York, the WTI dropped 0.07% to 42.64 dollars.
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Oil prices were stable on Thursday, the day after a report showing a sharp drop in crude reserves in the United States and which pushed prices towards a closing price not seen since March.
At around 9:40 a.m. GMT (11:40 a.m. CET), a barrel of Brent North Sea for October delivery was worth $ 45.38 in London, down 0.11% from Wednesday’s close.
In New York, the US barrel of WTI for the month of September dropped 0.07% to 42.64 dollars.
“After rising 2.5% (for WTI, Brent having gained 2.1%, editor’s note) during the previous session and reached a peak in five months, the price of oil eased Thursday,” summarized Fiona Cincotta, City Index analyst.
“The surprise drop in oil stocks in the United States last week is encouraging, but insufficient to whet the appetite of investors beyond this price level,” added Ipek Ozkardeskaya of Swissquote Bank.
According to the weekly report of the US Energy Information Agency (EIA), crude oil reserves in the United States fell more sharply than expected last week, by 4.5 million barrels, after having already dropped by 18 million the previous two weeks.
“The figures confirm that the demand for fuel is returning despite the ongoing pandemic,” Cincotta added.
In addition, the production of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) started to rise again in July, mainly in connection with an increase in production from Saudi Arabia, according to the cartel’s monthly report published on Wednesday.
OPEC slightly lowered its estimate of global oil demand in 2020, mainly due to weaker economic activity in non-OECD countries.
“But the report also sought to allay fears that OPEC + is going too quickly in increasing its production,” said Neil Wilson, of Markets.com, “underlining the need to + continue efforts to support the rebalancing of the market + ”.
Finally, the International Energy Agency (IEA) lowered its forecasts for global oil demand for 2020 and 2021 on Thursday due to the persistent weakness of the transport sector, especially the air sector, with the health crisis.
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