Oil prices lose ground as market jittery over demand risks
Oil prices struggled to find a footing on Thursday after easing in the previous session on a weakening global demand outlook.
Brent crude futures fell 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $92.38 a barrel by 0650 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 21 cents, or 0.2%, at $87.06 a barrel.
Both OPEC and the U.S. Energy Department have cut their demand outlooks, while a flare-up in COVID-19 cases in China has sparked fresh concerns over fuel consumption in the world’s top crude importing-country.
“This week has placed growth risks back into the spotlight for oil prices, as the initial enthusiasm over OPEC+ production cuts has proved to be short-lived and gains are seen fading off,” said Jun Rong Yeap, market strategist at online trading platform IG.
