Shafaq News/Crude prices bounced on Wednesday as concerns about Tropical Storm Francinedisrupting supply of oil outweighed worries about demand.
Brent crudefutures climbed 39 cents, or 0.6%, to $69.58 a barrel by 0031 GMT while U.S.crude futures were at $66.19 a barrel, up 44 cents, or 0.7%.
Bothbenchmarks fell nearly $3 on Tuesday, with Brent hitting its lowest level sinceDecember 2021 and WTI falling to a May 2023 trough, after OPEC+ revised downits demand forecast for this year and 2025.
"Investorsadjusted their positions after Tuesday's sharp drop," said HiroyukiKikukawa, president of NS Trading, a unit of Nissan Securities.
"Therebound was also driven by concerns that the storm could disrupt supply, withsome production facilities already suspended," he said, though hepredicted the market would remain bearish due to fears about slowing globaldemand.
TropicalStorm Francine was on track on Tuesday to become a hurricane overnight, theU.S. National Hurricane Center said, prompting Louisiana residents to fleeinland and oil and gas companies to shut Gulf of Mexico production.
About 24% ofcrude production and 26% of natural gas output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico wereoffline due to the storm, the U.S. Bureau of Safety and EnvironmentalEnforcement (BSEE) said on Tuesday.
On Tuesday,the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said in a monthlyreport world oil demand would rise by 2.03 million barrels per day (bpd) in2024, down from last month's forecast for growth of 2.11 million bpd.
OPEC alsocut its 2025 global demand growth estimate to 1.74 million bpd from 1.78million bpd.
But the U.S.Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Tuesday global oil demand isset to grow to a bigger record this year while output growth will be smallerthan prior forecasts.
Meanwhile,China's daily crude oil imports rose last month to their highest in a year,customs data and Reuters records showed on Tuesday, as shipments staged atentative recovery on lower crude oil prices and improving refining margins.
(Reuters)