London, July 18 (BNA): Oil prices were little changed on Tuesday as investors bet on the prospect of tightening US crude supplies against weaker-than-expected Chinese economic growth.
Brent crude fell 1 cent to $78.49 a barrel by 0753 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1 cent to $74.16 a barrel, Reuters reported.
Both contracts fell more than 1.5% on Monday, after lackluster Chinese data and the partial restart of some Libyan oil fields.
Market participants await industry data later on Tuesday which is expected to show crude oil inventories and product inventories in the US fell last week.
John Rong Yip, a market analyst at Singapore-based IG, said slow GDP data from China released on Monday “kept a cautious lid on prices with some reservations on demand recovery.”
China’s gross domestic product grew 6.3% year-on-year in the second quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of 7.3%, as the post-pandemic recovery lost momentum.
Meanwhile, US shale oil production is expected to see its first monthly decline since December 2022, data from the Energy Information Administration showed on Monday.
However, global supply is expected to see a boost from the resumption of production at two of the three Libyan fields that were closed last week.
MI
#Oil #steadies #investors #digest #China #gloom #eye #crude #supplies
Source link