New York, US (BBN) – Crude oil prices rebounded in Asia on Thursday as markets shrugged off downbeat supply data so far this week from the US and looked ahead to more word on the supply response.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for April delivery rose 0.73 per cent to $48.39 a barrel, while on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent was last quoted at $50.98, reports Investing.com.
Overnight, crude futures settled lower on Wednesday, after the latest Energy Information Administration (EIA) report showed a faster rise than expected in US crude inventories.
For the week ended March 15, The EIA said that crude oil inventories rose by 5 million barrels to a record 533.1 million barrels compared to estimates of an increase of only 2.8 million barrels.
Gasoline inventories dipped by 2.811 million against expectations for a draw of 2.008 million barrels while distillate stockpiles fell by 1.910 million barrels, compared to expectations of a 1.386 million decline.
Crude futures have turned bearish this week as fears that a ramp up in US crude and shale oil production may dampened OPEC’s efforts to rebalance supply and demand in the industry.
In November last year, OPEC and other producers, including Russia agreed to cut output by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in an effort to combat the oversupply issue that has pressured prices over the last two years.
Meanwhile, market participants turn attention to Baker Hughes rig count, due to be released on Friday at 13:00 EDT.
BBN/SK/AD