Home Industry Energy Oil steadies after mixed US stockpile report signals weak demand West Texas Intermediate traded near $73 a barrel after closing 0.3 per cent lower on Wednesday by Bloomberg March 30, 2023 Oil was steady after its first drop in three sessions as signals that US fuel demand may be lagging overshadowed a disruption to shipments from a key port in Turkey. West Texas Intermediate traded near $73 a barrel after closing 0.3 per cent lower on Wednesday. US government showed crude inventories fell the most this year last week but demand for distillates — a category that includes diesel — continued to languish at the lowest seasonal level since 2016, a sign of a lackluster economy. Crude remains on track for its fifth monthly drop as recessionary concerns, a banking crisis and resilient Russian output weighed on oil. Prices rallied at the start of this week after a dispute between Iraq, Turkey and Kurdish authorities halted around 400,000 barrels a day of exports from the Ceyhan port. Most market watchers are still betting on China’s recovery underpinning a rally in prices later this year, and comments from two of the nation’s oil majors painted an optimistic outlook. PetroChina and Cnooc both said a rebounding domestic economy can help cushion the impact of slower global growth. Read: QatarEnergy acquires stakes in two Exxon oil and gas projects in Canada Tags energy oil PetroChina 0 Comments You might also like Oil jumps over 2% amid further Red Sea vessel attacks Oil eased ahead of Christmas break on possible future Angola output increase Angola leaves OPEC in blow to oil producer group Mubadala Energy boosts Indonesia exposure with major gas discovery