WTI and Brent oil are both "standing still"

Oil prices today, October 23, early morning, both WTI and Brent oil are "marking time".

Oil prices today, October 23, early morning, both WTI and Brent are "marking time". (Source: Yahoo!)

Oil prices ended the trading session on October 22 up more than 2% as traders downplayed hopes for a ceasefire in the Middle East and focused on signs of improving demand from China.

Brent crude rose $1.75, or 2.4%, to $76.04 a barrel. WTI crude rose $1.53, or 2.2%, to $72.09 a barrel.

Beijing’s recent efforts to revive its slowing economy have prompted some analysts to raise expectations for oil demand in the world’s largest crude importer, Reuters reported. Weak demand from China has weighed on oil prices in recent months.

Both Brent and WTI crude rose nearly 2% in pre-market trading after China announced a cut in its benchmark lending rate.

Any improvement in economic growth in China will boost fuel consumption, but it may take some time for stimulus efforts to have an impact on oil demand, said StoneX analyst Alex Hodes.

In a note to clients, analysts at Goldman Sachs said Chinese demand rose by about 100,000 barrels per day last week to a six-month high, partly due to better-than-expected industrial output and retail sales.

China on October 22 set its crude oil import quota for 2025 at 257 million tonnes (5.14 million barrels per day), up from this year's 243 million tonnes.

Supporting prices in the near term is a supply shortage in the fourth quarter as global oil inventories fell more than 5 million barrels year-on-year last week to around 1.24 billion barrels, analyst Alex Hodes said.

Meanwhile, data from the American Petroleum Institute showed that US crude inventories rose by 1.64 million barrels in the week ending October 18, compared with analysts' forecasts for a 700,000-barrel increase. US gasoline and distillate inventories fell by 2.019 million barrels and 1.478 million barrels, respectively.

On the Middle East front, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the first major effort to broker a ceasefire in the Middle East since the death of Hamas leader Hamas last week. But investors were skeptical that the meeting would be like the previous 11 visits, with no progress, according to Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho.

So far, Israel has shown no signs of backing down in its operations in Gaza and Lebanon, while Hezbollah has ruled out negotiations while fighting with Israel continues.

Domestic retail prices of gasoline on October 23 are as follows:

E5 RON 92 gasoline is not more than 19,846 VND/liter.

RON 95-III gasoline is not more than 21,061 VND/liter.

Diesel oil not more than 18,500 VND/liter.

Kerosene not more than 18,790 VND/liter.

Fuel oil not exceeding 15,911 VND/kg.

The domestic retail price of gasoline and oil will be adjusted by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Trade in the price adjustment session on the afternoon of October 17. Although the world price of gasoline and oil increased last week, since the beginning of the new week, the price has decreased for 3 consecutive sessions, so it is likely that the domestic price of gasoline and oil will decrease. The forecast is that the price of gasoline will decrease by 100-200 VND/liter, and the price of oil will decrease more.

In the most recent price adjustment period, the price of E5 RON 92 gasoline increased by VND996/liter, RON 95-III gasoline increased by VND1,258/liter, diesel increased by VND1,099/liter, kerosene increased by VND1,139/liter, and fuel oil increased by VND908/kg.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/gia-xang-dau-hom-nay-2310-dau-wti-va-brent-deu-giam-chan-tai-cho-291074.html