BEIJING- Oil prices edged up on Wednesday on signs of near-term supply tightness but remained near their lowest in two weeks a day after OPEC downgraded its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2024 and 2025.
Brent futures rose 13 cents or 0.18 percent to $72.02 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 13 cents, or 0.19 percent, to $68.25.
“Crude oil prices edged higher as tightness in the physical market offset bearish sentiment on demand. Buyers in the physical market have been particularly active, with any available cargoes being snapped up quickly,” ANZ analysts said in a note.
But falling demand projections and weakness in major consumer China continued to weigh on market sentiment.
In its monthly report on Tuesday, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said world oil demand would rise by 1.82 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024, down from growth of 1.93 million bpd forecast last month, mostly due to weakness in China, the worlds biggest oil importer.
Oil prices settled up 0.1 percent on Tuesday following the news, after falling by about 5 percent during the two previous sessions.
OPEC also cut its 2025 global demand growth estimate to 1.54 million bpd from 1.64 million bpd.
The IEA, which has a far lower view, is set to publish its updated forecast on Thursday.
