Oil Prices Ease On Weaker Demand From China, Japan

Oil prices eased on Wednesday, giving up earlier gains, after China and Japan both reported weak economic data, fuelling concerns about growth and oil demand among the world's top consumers.

Brent crude futures were down 0.3 percent to US$104.30 a barrel at 05:01 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 0.5 percent to US$100.14 a barrel. Both contracts had surged more than 6 percent in the previous session.

The mainland’s crude oil imports slipped 14 percent from a year earlier, extending a two-month slide, as strict measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 impacted demand from the world's top crude importer.

China imported 42.71 million tonnes last month, equivalent to 10.06 million barrels per day, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Wednesday.

Oil prices had rebounded on Tuesday as reports of partial easing of some of China's tight Covid-19 lockdowns helped stoke bullish sentiment among market players. However, infections in Shanghai rebounded to more than 26,000 on Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, Japan reported its biggest monthly fall in core machinery orders in nearly two years in February, dragged down by a steep drop in demand from IT and other service firms.

Still, oil prices are underpinned by falling Russian oil and gas condensate production. OPEC has warned it would be impossible to replace further potential supply losses from Russia.

In the United States, crude stocks rose sharply last week while distillate and gasoline inventories dipped, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. (Reuters)