Global crude oil news: Prices fall as demand from China remains uncertain

17 Nov 2022 , 08:45 AM

As anxieties about geopolitical tensions subsided and concerns about demand in China, the world’s largest crude importer, increased, oil prices fell for the second day in early Asian trade on Thursday.

To reach $92.24 a barrel, Brent crude futures declined by 62 cents or 0.7%. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil futures in the United States decreased by 65 cents, or 0.8%, to $84.94 per barrel.

Following the commencement of Russian oil exports via the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary on Wednesday, Brent fell by 1.1% and WTI fell by 1.5%.

In an effort to allay concerns that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine would spill over the border, Poland and the military alliance NATO said on Wednesday that a missile that crashed within Poland was likely a stray shot by Ukraine’s air defences rather than a Russian strike.

The Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday that crude stocks in the United States, the world’s largest oil consumer, fell by 5.4 million barrels in the week ending Nov. 11 to 435.4 million barrels, contrary to forecasts in a Reuters poll for a 440,000-barrel decline.

As TC Energy lifted a force majeure order on its 622,000 barrel per day Keystone pipeline, which supplies the Midwest and Gulf Coast, more oil is expected to flow to the U.S.

China has a tiny COVID caseload compared to the rest of the world, but it nevertheless has strict rules in place to stop cases from spreading.

Over 20,000 of the 23,276 new COVID-19 infections reported by the National Health Commission on November 16 were asymptomatic.

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