Oil holds two-day drop as demand concerns offset SPR refill plan
BNN Bloomberg
Oil held a two-day decline as concerns over physical demand and the possible restart of some flows from Iraq offset a plan by the U.S. that it could start refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve after June.
West Texas Intermediate fell below US$71 a barrel, after dropping by nearly 4 per cent over the previous two sessions. The physical market is showing signs of weakness amid poor refining margins and lackluster buying in some areas. That comes as the two biggest economies showed further evidence of cooling this week, with U.S. jobless claims rising and China's recovery waning.
In the Middle East, Iraq said it's resuming oil exports through the port of Ceyhan in Turkey on Saturday, according to the country's oil minister. Should flows resume, that would return about 450,000 barrels a day to the market.
