Oil prices fall for the fourth day in a row

Oil prices fell for the fourth day in a row due to the impact of improving supply expectations in the market, which is suffering from a slowdown in demand from major importers.

Brent futures fell 3 cents, or 0.04%, to $83.18, while West Texas Intermediate futures traded below $79 a barrel to $78.81 after falling 1.8% on Wednesday.

The Biden administration is in talks with Venezuela to discuss a temporary lifting of sanctions that have hampered oil sales. This comes in addition to an increase in exports from Iran this month, according to Bloomberg.

Rally in crude oil prices stalls

The rally in crude oil prices that began in late June has stalled in the past two weeks due to the deteriorating economic situation in China, as well as signs that US interest rates should remain high for even longer. This was overshadowed by a tightening market due to supply cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia.

According to Kepler, the restrictions have contributed to a sharp drop in global oil inventories over the past month.

The Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday that U.S. crude inventories fell 6.1 million barrels last week, to their lowest level since December.

“In the short term, we see oil prices trading in a limited range as the struggle between demand issues and supply shortages continues,” said Han Zhongliang, strategist at Standard Chartered Bank.

He added that the price of WTI is likely to remain at $79 per barrel for now.