Oil down amid weakening demand outlook, inventory built

By Ebru Sengul Cevrioglu

ANKARA (AA) - Oil prices fell on Thursday amid a weakening demand outlook supported by recession worries and a higher-than-expected build in inventories.

International benchmark Brent crude traded at $92.29 per barrel at 9.28 a.m. local time (0628GMT), down 0.17% from the closing price of $92.45 a barrel in the previous trading session.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI), trading at $87 per barrel, fell 0.30% after closing the previous session at $87.27 a barrel.

World oil demand growth in 2022 was revised downward by 0.5 million barrels per day to reflect recently observed trends and developments in various regions, according to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) latest monthly oil market report released on Wednesday.

The group said these include the extension of China's zero-COVID-19 restrictions in some regions, economic challenges in OECD Europe, and inflationary pressures in other key economies which could taper overall demand.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) late Wednesday also announced its estimate of a build of over 7 million barrels in US crude oil inventories, relative to the market expectation of a 1.77-million-barrel drop.

A rise in inventories indicates a decline in crude demand in the US, putting pressure on prices.

Official oil stock data will be announced by the US Energy Information Administration later Thursday.