Oil held near $74 — after the longest run of losses this year — as prices swung with a fluctuating dollar and traders looked toward US inventory figures due later.
West Texas Intermediate was little changed, paring earlier gains as the dollar trimmed losses. The greenback’s fortunes have driven crude in recent days, with gains tempered by Federal Reserve minutes released Wednesday that were more closely aligned with the market’s monetary tightening outlook.
Crude has been under pressure this week as renewed expectations of rate hikes countered longer-term optimism about Chinese consumption rising later in the year. For much of this year, however, prices have lacked direction as traders await signs of meaningful demand increases.
“Oil prices remain lodged in rangebound territory and in search of acute near-term catalysts,” RBC Capital Markets analysts including Michael Tran and Helima Croft wrote in a note. “Trendless physical markets have been the story for months, indicating slack in the global system.”
Wall Street banks are starting to temper their bullish outlook for oil prices, with Morgan Stanley the latest to trim its forecasts. The market has endured a bumpy ride since the start of the year, and WTI futures have traded in a range of around $10 a barrel as China’s bullish outlook competes with a hawkish Fed.
The American Petroleum Institute reported US crude inventories rose by 9.9 million barrels last week, according to people familiar with the data. Stockpiles are at the highest level since June 2021 and official weekly figures from the Energy Information Administration are due later Thursday.
Prices:
WTI for April delivery rose 0.7% to $74.45 a barrel as of 10:27 a.m. London time.
Brent for April settlement gained 0.6% to $81.07 a barrel.
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