Oil prices rise amid geopolitical tensions
On Thursday, oil prices rose modestly, with Brent crude up 0.2% to $72.97 and US West Texas Intermediate up 0.23 percent to $68.91.According to Reuters, geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine drove the hike, offsetting the impact of a larger-than-expected increase in US crude stocks.
"For oil, the risk is if Ukraine targets Russian energy infrastructure, while the other risk is uncertainty over how Russia responds to these attacks," according to an ING analyst note.
According to JPMorgan analysts, oil consumption has returned in the last week, led by greater travel demand in the United States and India, with India also experiencing a significant increase in industrial demand.
Global oil demand is expected to reach 103.6 million barrels per day (bpd) during the first 19 days of November, a rise of 1.7 million bpd over the same period last year.
Oil price increases were somewhat offset by a larger-than-expected increase in U.S. crude stocks, which rose by 545,000 barrels to 430.3 million barrels in the week ending November 15. This topped economists' expectations for a 138,000-barrel gain.
According to Energy Information Administration data, gasoline inventories increased more than predicted, while distillate stockpiles decreased more than anticipated.
Increased supply also played a part, with Norway's Equinor stating that it had restored full output capacity at the Johan Sverdrup oilfield in the North Sea following a power failure.
Furthermore, OPEC+ may postpone planned output increases when it meets on December 1, according to three sources familiar with the discussions, citing low global oil demand as a major concern.
OPEC+, which accounts for almost half of global oil production, had previously planned to gradually unwind production cuts with tiny increases over several months in 2024 and 2025.
However, given concerns about low global oil consumption, the organization may reconsider these intentions.
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