Brent and WTI crudes fall as hurricane fears ease, Chinese demand eases – Investor King

Oil prices fell on Wednesday as the impact of Hurricane Beryl dissipated and inflation data pointed to stubbornly weak consumer demand in China, the world’s biggest crude importer.

Brent crude, against which Nigerian oil is priced, fell 58 cents, or 0.69 percent, to $84.08 a barrel, after falling 1.3 percent in the previous session.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude also fell 48 cents, or 0.59 percent, to $80.93 a barrel, after falling 1.1 percent a day earlier.

Both contracts are down about 3% over the past three sessions. That trend is attributed to signs that the Texas energy industry weathered Hurricane Beryl with minimal lasting damage after the storm hit on Monday.

By Tuesday, oil and gas companies had resumed some operations, several ports had reopened and most manufacturing facilities were ramping up output.

However, some facilities were damaged and power had not been fully restored.

“Hurricane Beryl’s blowout appears to be the biggest driver at the moment and an opportunity for traders to lock in some profits after a bullish period over the past two weeks,” said Suvro Sarkar, team leader of the energy sector at DBS Bank.

In addition to the dampening impact of the hurricane, concerns about Chinese demand also weighed on oil prices. China’s consumer prices rose for a fifth straight month in June, but were below expectations, while producer price deflation persisted.

“Expectations for easing tensions in the Middle East and weaker-than-expected June CPI data from China weighed on oil prices today,” said independent market analyst Tina Teng.

In the Middle East, negotiations to secure a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict will resume in Doha, with intelligence chiefs from Egypt, the United States and Israel in attendance.

Despite these factors, oil prices were somewhat supported by comments from US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggesting a stronger case for interest rate cuts, which could boost economic growth and boost oil consumption.

Following Powell’s remarks, investors continued to bet on a nearly 70 percent chance the Fed would cut rates in September.

“Powell’s remarks to the Senate affirmed the improvement in data in the June quarter, while maintaining that more good data would boost confidence in the inflation outlook,” ANZ analysts noted in a report on Wednesday.

U.S. crude oil and gasoline inventories also fell by 1.923 million barrels and 2.954 million barrels, respectively, according to market sources citing data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday.

This decline indicates steady demand for summer fuel, helping to bounce back after days of falling prices. Official data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) is due at 1630 GMT.

“Today’s data on US stocks will be closely watched if the declines continue after last week’s massive draw,” DBS Bank’s Sarkar said.

As oil markets react to these dynamics, the interplay of hurricane recovery efforts, Chinese economic signals and broader geopolitical developments will continue to shape crude oil prices in the coming weeks.