Oil prices inched upwards in Asian trade on Tuesday as investors eyed a possible tightening of US crude supplies, after sinking in the previous session on weaker-than-expected Chinese economic growth.
Brent crude was up 26 cents at $78.67 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 29 cents to $74.44 a barrel.
Both contracts fell more than 1.5 percent on Monday.
Market participants were awaiting industry data later on Tuesday that is expected to show US crude oil stockpiles and product inventories fell last week.
Four analysts polled by Reuters estimated on average that US crude inventories fell by about 2.3 million barrels in the week to July 14.
Lacklustre gross domestic product (GDP) data from China released on Monday “kept a cautious lid on prices with some reservations in its demand recovery,” said Jun Rong Yeap, a market strategist at IG in Singapore.
China’s GDP grew 6.3 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, compared with analyst forecasts of 7.3 percent, as its post-pandemic recovery lost momentum.
“Nevertheless, some traction from buyers has emerged lately, with prices breaking above its near-term consolidation pattern last week which may suggest some exhaustion in selling pressure, following the downbeat sentiments over the past one year,” Yeap added.
Meanwhile, US shale oil production is projected to fall to nearly 9.40 million barrels per day in August, which would be the first monthly decline since December 2022, data from the Energy Information Administration showed on Monday.