Oil prices remained static on Thursday, as investors’ weak demand fears were assuaged after US crude inventories declined more than market expectations, while the prospect of a return of Iranian oil to the global market crippled upward price movements.
International benchmark Brent crude traded at $93.50 per barrel at 09.47 a.m. local time (0647 GMT) for a 0.16% decrease from the closing price of $93.65 a barrel in the previous trading session.
American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $87.91 per barrel at the same time for a 0.22% loss after the previous session closed at $88.11 a barrel.
According to data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday, US commercial crude oil inventories decreased by around 7.1 million barrels to 425 million barrels last week, against the market expectation of a fall of 117,000 barrels.
Strategic petroleum reserves, which are not included in commercial crude stocks, also fell by 3.4 million barrels to 461.2 million barrels last week, the data revealed.
Gasoline inventories decreased by 4.6 million barrels to 215.7 million barrels over the same period.
Meanwhile, traders are closely watching recent developments on efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal between the US and Iran, which, if agreed, will lift sanctions on Iranian oil exports and bring around 1 million barrels per day (bpd) to the market.
By Sibel Morrow
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr