Oil prices rose today, Thursday, recovering previous losses fueled by fears of a recession in the United States and an increase in Russian oil exports, which diminished the impact of OPEC's production cuts.
By 00:39 GMT, Brent crude was trading at $78.04 a barrel, up 35 cents, or 0.45 percent. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose by 21 cents, or 0.28 percent, to $74.51 a barrel.
This increase follows a nearly four percent decline in oil prices yesterday, Wednesday, continuing sharp losses from the previous session, as growing concerns over a recession in the U.S., the world's largest economy, overshadowed a report showing a larger-than-expected decrease in U.S. crude inventories.
New orders for key U.S. manufactured goods fell more than expected in March, and shipments declined, indicating that reduced business spending on equipment has led to a slowdown in economic growth in the first quarter of the year.
Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed a decrease in U.S. crude inventories last week by 5.1 million barrels to 460.9 million barrels, significantly exceeding the average analyst expectations in a Reuters survey of a decline of 1.5 million barrels.
OPEC's share of Indian oil imports fell at the fastest pace in 2022-2023 to its lowest level in at least 22 years as imports of cheaper Russian oil increased, while China also ramped up its purchases of Russian Urals crude.
Sources told Reuters that oil loading from western Russian ports in April will be the highest since 2019, exceeding 2.4 million barrels per day, despite Moscow's pledge to reduce production. Furthermore, Moscow has increased its fuel supplies to Turkey, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.
