Oil declines as demand woes overshadow U.S. inventory drop
Oil prices were little changed on Wednesday, supported by a bigger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories but under pressure as rising global COVID-19 cases threatened global fuel demand.
Brent crude prices were down 53 cents at $56.05 a barrel. An earlier rise took prices as high as $57.42 a barrel, the strongest since Feb. 24.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) settled 30 cents, or 0.6%, lower at $52.91 per barrel.
U.S. crude inventories fell by 3.2 million barrels in the week to Jan. 8 to 482.2 million barrels, exceeding analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.3 million-barrel drop, as refiners increased crude runs, the Energy Information Administration said.
COVID-19 cases that continue to spur restrictions on travel and other activities by governments across the world limited oil prices and the pandemic is expected to cast a shadow on the market for months to come, analysts said.
Governments across Europe announced tighter and longer coronavirus lockdowns on Wednesday over fears about a fast-spreading variant first detected in Britain, with vaccinations not expected to help much for another two to three months.
China recorded the biggest daily jump in COVID cases in more than five months, despite four cities in lockdown, increased testing and other measures aimed at preventing another wave of infections in the world’s second biggest economy.
Reference: CNBC
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