Oil steadies after plunge as traders grapple with demand concern
BNN Bloomberg
Oil steadied after plunging to the lowest close in almost six months as investors weighed weaker US gasoline demand and rising inventories against a token supply increase from OPEC+.
West Texas Intermediate was little changed near US$91 a barrel, after sinking 4 per cent on Wednesday. In the US, government data showed Americans are driving less than they did in the summer of 2020, when pandemic travel curbs all but halted movement. Nationwide crude stockpiles also expanded last week.
Ahead of the US data release, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies including Russia agreed on Wednesday to boost supply by a meager 100,000 barrels a day in September. The group also issued a stark warning on “severely limited” spare capacity.
