Oil prices steady after big drop on recession concerns, inventory rise
By Trend
Oil prices steadied on Thursday, following sharp overnight losses as U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly rose, fears of recession mounted and economic data out of China and Europe disappointed, reports Trend referring to Reuters.
Brent crude LCOc1 was down 13 cents, or 0.2%, at $59.35 a barrel by 0643 GMT, after falling 3% in the last session.
U.S. crude CLc1 was up 5 cents, or 0.1%, at $55.28 a barrel, having dropped 3.3% in the previous session.
The combination of a slew of data suggesting a slowdown in global growth amid the U.S.-China trade war and persistently high levels of oil in U.S. storage has punctured recent optimism in crude markets, but stoked expectations that leading producers may take further steps to support prices.
“Oil prices, though supported by OPEC-led production curbs ... face severe headwinds as traders swing between demand-side worries and supply curtailment policies,” said Benjamin Lu, analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has been mostly trimming production since the start of 2017 and traders say they expect Saudi Arabia to reduce output further amid slowing global oil demand.
The U.S. Treasury bond yield curve inverted on Wednesday for the first time since 2007, a sign of investor concern that the world’s biggest economy may fall into recession.
China reported disappointing data for July, including a surprise drop in industrial output growth to a more than 17-year low, underlining widening economic cracks as the trade war with the U.S. intensifies.