By Srinivas Chowdary Sunkara // petrobazaar // 15th August, 2019.
Brent crude Oct futures slipped $1.82 or 2.97% from their previous settlement to $59.48 and WTI Sept futures dropped $1.87 or 3.3% from its earlier close to $55.23 a barrel last night. Shanghai crude oil main contract futures rose 10.2 Yuan or 2.43% to 429.1 Yuan/barrel while MCX futures closed Rs.121 down at Rs.3914 yesterday. The brent benchmark traded at a premium of $4.25 to WTI.
Mounting recession fears, Disappointed economic data from China, Europe and a second week of unexpected builds in US crude inventories added to press the oil prices. Bets on falling prices rose after China reported a surprise drop in industrial output growth to a more than 17 year low. The global economic worries, Amplified by tariff conflicts and uncertainty over Brexit are also hitting European economies added to the fuel. Turning to weekly data, US government reported that the commercial crude oil inventories piled up by 1.6 Mbpd while gasoline and distillates stocks were drawn by 1.4 Mb and 1.9 Mbpd during the last week. On the demand front, The EIA reduced its demand outlook by 70,000 bpd and IEA lowered its own by 100,000 bpd in their latest reports. OPEC monthly oil report is due to release tomorrow. Asian markets opened down today, adding to sharp overnight loss yesterday.
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