Oil Rebounds After Brutal Week as Traders Take Stock of Outlook

Oil rose from its lowest close since 2021 after a deep weekly loss pushed futures close to levels regarded as oversold, with the focus this week on three reports that may clarify the demand outlook.

Global benchmark Brent advanced toward $72 a barrel after plunging by almost 10% last week, while West Texas Intermediate was above $68. Oil’s recent losses have been driven by signs of a slowdowns in the US and China, endangering demand at a time of abundant supply. The slide left the 14-day relative strength index at 31, a signal losses may have been too rapid and too steep.

Traders are in line for bumper crop of market insights this week as the three most prominent forecasters — OPEC, the Energy Information Administration and the International Energy Agency — all publish their monthly outlooks. In addition, the Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference, a major industry gathering, takes place in Singapore.

The start-of-week gain came despite a decision by Saudi Arabia to cut pricing of its flagship grade for its main market in Asia next month, reflecting the poor demand outlook. State-owned Saudi Aramco lowered the official selling price of Arab Light for buyers in Asia by 70 cents to $1.30 a barrel against the regional benchmark, according to a price list seen by Bloomberg.

Crude has tumbled for the past three weeks as the broader market mood become more bearish, joining other commodities and equities in a wide selloff that’s spooked investors. There has also been widespread softness in product markets, including US gasoline and European diesel. The weakness prompted OPEC to defer a plan to relax supply curbs by two months.

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This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.