Brent futures for May delivery concluded 29 cents below at $81.92 per barrel, while the April U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude contract finished 37 cents lower at $77.56
Oil prices experienced a slight decrease on Tuesday, closing at a slightly lower rate due to a higher-than-expected projection for U.S. crude oil production and negative economic data. However, ongoing geopolitical tensions prevented significant drops in prices.
Brent futures for May delivery concluded 29 cents below at $81.92 per barrel. Meanwhile, the April U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude contract finished 37 cents lower at $77.56.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a solid increase in consumer prices in February, attributing persistent inflation mainly to rising gasoline and shelter costs.
This does show a second month of an increase, according to Tim Snyder, an economist at Matador Economics, noting the numbers were still within expectations. Consensus in the markets says the Federal Reserve will not move to reduce rates until June.
On Tuesday, OPEC maintained its prediction for robust growth in global oil demand in 2024 and 2025, while also revising its economic growth forecast for the current year, indicating potential for further improvement.
Regarding supply, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) raised its 2024 projection for domestic oil production growth by 260,000 barrels per day to 13.19 million barrels, compared to the previous estimate of a 170,000 bpd increase.
The boosted forecast could be because of higher assumed oil prices, according to UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.
Market sources, citing American Petroleum Institute data, reported a 5.521 million barrel decline in U.S. crude inventories for the week ending Mar. 8.
Official U.S. government data is scheduled for release on Wednesday.
Recent economic indicators from China, the largest oil importer globally, suggested weakening demand despite an increase in crude imports during the first two months of the year compared to the same period last year.
