New York July 21 2022: Oil prices fell by more than $5 on Thursday after higher U.S. gasoline stockpiles stoked demand worries and returning energy supply from Libya and Russia eased supply concerns.
Brent crude futures lost $5.13, or 4.8%, to $101.79 a barrel by 1039 GMT after slipping 0.4% in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down $5.05, or 5.06%, at $94.83 after a 1.9% drop on Wednesday.
Oil futures trading volumes have been thin and prices volatile as traders have to square weaker energy demand with tighter supply resulting from the loss of Russian barrels after the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
The European Central Bank is set to join other central banks in raising interest rates, focusing on fighting runaway inflation rather than the economic downturn, which can weigh on oil demand. An announcement is due at 1215 GMT.
Libya’s National Oil Corp (NOC) on Wednesday said that crude production had resumed at several oilfields after the lifting of force majeure on oil exports last week.
On the natural gas front, Gazprom (GAZP.MM) resumed flows via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline that supplies more than a third of Russian gas exports to the European Union. read more
However, one of Canada’s major oil export arteries, the Keystone pipeline, was operating at reduced rates for a third day on Wednesday, operator TC Energy said.
