Oil prices rose in early Asian trading on Wednesday, hovering again at the highest level in ten months that they touched in the previous session, as expectations of shrinking global supplies and fears of an interruption in Libyan supplies overshadowed fears of a slowdown in demand in some countries such as China.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) stuck to its expectations of strong growth in global oil demand in 2023 and 2024, attributing this to indications that the performance of major economies is better than expected despite negative factors such as high interest rates and high inflation.
Price action
By 0300 GMT, Brent crude futures rose 0.02 percent to $92.08 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 7 cents, or 0.07 percent, to $88.91 per barrel.
The two benchmarks rose by about two percent upon settlement on Tuesday, closing at their highest levels since November 2022.
Satoru Yoshida, commodity analyst at Rakuten Securities, said positive expectations for demand from OPEC and predictions by the US Energy Information Administration of a decline in global oil inventories have strengthened market views about tight supplies in the future.
He added that news of OPEC member Libya closing four of its eastern oil export terminals due to a deadly storm also contributed to raising oil prices.
