Oil prices recovered on Thursday from losses chalked up the session before, but the market remained under pressure as bloated U.S. crude inventories and rising output dampen OPEC-led efforts to curb global production.<\/p>\n
Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil, were at $50.95 per barrel at 0231 GMT, up 31 cents, or 0.6 percent, from their last close. That came after Brent briefly dipped below $50 a barrel on Wednesday for the first time since November.<\/p>\n
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 35 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $48.39 a barrel, after testing support at $47 overnight.<\/p>\n
Analysts said Brent had found technical support around $50 a barrel and was being pushed up as traders took new long positions after crude hit multi-month lows overnight.<\/p>\n
Despite the bounce, traders said the market remained under pressure, largely due to a big U.S. inventory and doubts that an effort led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut output was reining in a global fuel supply overhang.<\/p>\n
Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at futures brokerage AxiTrader, said OPEC was “underwriting the investment plans and returns of their competition in U.S. shale oil.”<\/p>\n
McKenna said there was a risk of oil prices dropping further due to U.S. output and a lack of compliance by some producers who said they would cut production.<\/p>\n
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) said U.S. inventories climbed almost 5 million barrels to a record 533.1 million last week, far outpacing forecasts of a 2.8 million-barrel build.<\/p>\n
The high inventories come as U.S. oil production has risen over 8 percent since mid-2016 to more than 9.13 million barrels per day (bpd) to levels comparable in late 2014, when the oil market slump started.<\/p>\n
There were also signs of a bloated market in Asia, where China’s gasoline imports slumped while its refiners sent huge volumes overseas as they refine more fuel than the domestic market can absorb.<\/p>\n
China’s gasoline exports in February hit the second highest on record, up 76.6 percent over a year earlier at 1.06 million tonnes, data from the Chinese customs showed on Thursday. Diesel exports last month surged 66.7 percent on year at 1.32 million tonnes.<\/p>\n
China imported just 7,245 tonnes of gasoline in February, tumbling 94 percent from the same period last year. Diesel imports dropped 52 percent from a year ago to 50,000 tonnes.<\/p>\n
Source: Reuters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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