Oil holds near US$80 as U.S. stockpile drop offsets demand worries

​Oil steadied near US$80 a barrel in London as traders assessed a mixed picture in the U.S. market and China’s efforts to revitalize its sagging economic growth.

Brent futures were slightly higher on Thursday in thin trading volumes typical for this time of year. U.S. data showed crude inventories at the nation’s storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, shrank last week by the most since October 2021. However, that was tempered by a second weekly drop in demand for the main refined products: gasoline, distillates and jet fuel.

Crude has traded in a narrow range this week, and is still marginally down this year, after making a sharp break higher since late June on signs the market may finally be tightening.