In addition, the weekly report showed a drop in inventories, heralding stronger demand, the Mina agency reports.
According to data published on the OilPrice website, the growth in the value of “black gold” continues today, so the price of Brent oil is currently $85.34. Texas WTI crude is currently trading at $78.68.
Investors concentrated on the discourse of the head of the U.S. central bank, Jerome Powell.
According to OANDA’s Craig Erlam, traders were more defensive, expecting a more hawkish tone, but Powell held back.
The market hopes a less aggressive rate hike could spare the U.S. economy from a sharp slowdown or even a decline in activity, which would hit oil demand.
China is on the verge of a strong recovery in consumption following the lifting of strict measures to combat the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
As Stephen Brennock from PVM says, global supply will grow only modestly, and demand will, by all accounts, jump, which means that these two key market factors will converge in the coming months.
The American Petroleum Institute says that lower U.S. crude oil inventories contributed to low prices.
Separately, OPEC announced that on Tuesday, the price of a barrel of its members’ oil basket stood at $80.50.
China represents the main factor
The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects China to be “accountable” for half of the growth in global demand this year, its head Fatih Birol said, singling out a jump in demand for jet fuel.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest exporter, increased oil prices for Asian customers for the first time in six months because of an anticipated recovery in demand, especially in China.
At the same time, markets are anxiously following the consequences of the terrible earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. According to the currently available data, more than 5,000 people have died, and it is feared that the number of victims could be much higher.
