On Wednesday, oil prices faced challenges, declining to a three-month low in the prior session. This decline is fueled by a fall in exports from the United States and China.
WTI Crude is down 1.5%, and Brent Crude is down 1.3% at the time of writing.
Chinese oil exports have been dipping for six months. This, according to Derren Nathan, head of equity researcher at Hargreaves Lansdown, means that “demand concerns were heightened by a 6% fall in Chinese exports, the sixth decline in as many months. But traders also factored in a potential oversupply. US crude inventories rose more than expected yesterday.”
Oil prices faced additional pressure as the U.S. dollar (.DXY) experienced a slight rebound from recent lows, increasing the cost of oil for holders of alternative currencies.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) now forecasts a slightly smaller increase in U.S. crude oil production this year, accompanied by a felt decline in demand.
EIA now indicates a 300,000 bpd reduction in total petroleum consumption, in contrast to the initial prediction of a 100,000 bpd increase.
The EIA website states that the data this week is delayed and rescheduled to be posted on November 13, citing that the delay was caused by a planned system upgrade.
China’s central bank governor stated on Wednesday that China is on track to meet its annual gross domestic product growth target of around 5% this year.
Despite economic challenges such as high inflation and interest rates, OPEC anticipates global economic growth to boost fuel demand.