Oil prices held broadly steady on Wednesday after a run of declines that have pushed Brent down to almost $77, driven by stubborn fears over Chinese demand and diminishing concerns about conflict spreading in the Middle East.
Brent crude futures rose nine cents by mid-morning Wednesday to $77.29 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $73.23, up six cents.
Since peaking above $82 on Monday last week, Brent had shed 6.2% of its value by the end of trading on Tuesday, closing at a two-week low of $77.20. WTI fell 7.5% in the same period.
Worries over demand from China, the world’s biggest crude importer, and the dialing back of alarm over war in the Middle East expanding to threaten crude supply, drove those declines.
The United States is the world’s biggest producer and consumer of oil, and growing inventories point to oversupply that could pressure prices.
Official U.S. government inventory estimates was set to be released on Wednesday morning.
The economic struggles in top crude importer China have continued to hobble the market, as weak processing margins and low fuel demand curbed operations at state-run and independent refineries.
