Author: Laila Kearney
(Reuters) – Crude oil prices stabilised on Wednesday after rising in the previous trading session, as hopes for economic stimulus in China, the world’s biggest crude importer, cooled. But industry reports showed inventories were falling, supporting the market.
Futures were up 3 cents at $75.20 a barrel by 0004 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 2 cents at $71.58 a barrel.
Prices rose about 1.7% on Tuesday after China announced its most aggressive stimulus package since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, including interest rate cuts and government funding.
But analysts warned that more fiscal support was needed to shore up confidence in the world’s second-largest economy as the announcement’s initial impact on crude prices faded.
Nonetheless, the decline in U.S. crude and fuel inventories has provided some support to the market. Since prices fell to their lowest levels since 2021 on September 10, the market has been broadly bullish.
U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 4.34 million barrels last week, gasoline inventories fell by 3.44 million barrels and distillate inventories fell by 1.12 million barrels, market sources said Tuesday, citing figures from the American Petroleum Institute (API).
Oil prices have risen as the Middle East conflict between Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel deepens, with both sides firing rockets across the border, raising concerns that the fighting could escalate in key producing regions.
Hezbollah confirmed on Wednesday that its top commander, Ibrahim Qubaisi, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Lebanese capital, as Israel had previously said. Israel said Qubaisi led the group’s missile and rocket force.
A hurricane threatening the U.S. Gulf Coast has changed course toward Florida and left oil and gas producing areas near Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
