Oil prices remain flat in early trade

28 Mar 2023 , 08:45 AM

After rising in the previous session, crude prices fell in early Asian trading on Tuesday as oil markets concentrated on developments in the banking crisis as well as supply concerns and signs of growing demand.

Brent crude futures decreased 2 cents to $78.10 a barrel. To reach $72.89, West Texas Intermediate U.S. crude increased by 8 cents or 0.1%.

Prices increased in the previous session as a result of Turkey stopping the pipeline-based pumping of petroleum from Kurdistan after an arbitration ruling determined Baghdad’s approval was required for the oil shipment.

The news on Monday that First Citizens BancShares Inc. would buy the deposits and loans of the defunct Silicon Valley Bank sparked hope for the future of the banking industry, which has shaken up the stock market.

According to reports, U.S. officials are currently in the planning stages of increasing emergency lending facilities.

Oil prices also benefited from signs of robust Chinese demand.

According to an annual estimate released on Monday by a research division of China National Petroleum Corp, China’s crude oil imports are predicted to increase by 6.2% from last year’s level to 540 million tonnes in 2023.

A preliminary survey released on Monday indicated that the nation’s crude oil stockpiles were expected to increase by approximately 200,000 barrels last week.

An industry association called the American Petroleum Institute (API) will release its inventory statistics on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. EDT and the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.

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