

Market Analysis
Oil prices bounced back on Wednesday, breaking a three-session losing streak, as a drop in U.S. crude inventories and supply concerns from Canadian wildfires pushed prices higher.
By 0650 GMT, Brent crude futures for September had gained 40 cents, or 0.5%, reaching $81.41 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for September also saw a 40-cent increase, or 0.5%, to $77.36 per barrel.
Previously, WTI had declined by 7% and Brent by nearly 5% over the last three days.
The recent decline in U.S. crude, gasoline, and distillate inventories, reported by the American Petroleum Institute (API), indicates consistent demand in the U.S., the world's largest oil consumer. Last week marked the fourth consecutive decline in these inventories.
Additionally, Canadian wildfires have disrupted production and threatened a significant portion of supply, according to ING analysts. They noted that the market is approaching oversold conditions and still believe that fundamental factors will support higher prices through the end of the third quarter due to a deficit environment.
The API report revealed a decrease of 3.9 million barrels in crude stocks for the week ending July 19, while gasoline inventories dropped by 2.8 million barrels and distillates by 1.5 million barrels. This represents the first four-week consecutive drop in U.S. crude stocks since September 2023.
Official government oil inventory data is expected to be released later on Wednesday.
Oil prices had fallen to a six-week low on Tuesday, with Brent closing at its lowest since June 9. The drop was influenced by ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, which U.S. President Joe Biden outlined in May and were mediated by Egypt and Qatar. Additionally, concerns over a potential economic slowdown in China, the world's largest crude importer, have raised fears of weakening global oil demand.
Paraphrasing text from "Reuters" all rights reserved by the original author.