Oil prices strengthened on Wednesday in international markets as investors weighed concerns about the slowdown of the Chinese economy and the expected reduced supply in the U.S.
The price of a barrel on the London market rose by 27 cents from the previous close, to $85.16. On the U.S. market, the barrel strengthened by 29 cents, to $81.28.
Prices on both markets fell by more than one percent in the previous trading day, reaching the lowest level since August 8.
The focus is on the slowing Chinese economy, after retail, industrial production, and investment data fell short of expectations. This has raised concerns that there could be a deeper and more prolonged slowdown in growth.
Data on activities in July this year raised concerns that China would struggle to meet its targeted annual growth rate of around five percent without additional fiscal stimulus.
The Chinese central bank slightly lowered interest rates after data indicated increased pressure on the economy, mainly from the real estate sector, although analysts say the reduction is too small to make a significant difference.
Meanwhile, crude oil inventories in the U.S. fell by about 6.2 million barrels last week. This is a much larger reduction than the drop of 2.3 million barrels that analysts had expected on average.
The reduction in supply from Saudi Arabia and Russia has lifted oil prices over the past seven weeks. Data released on Wednesday shows that Saudi crude oil exports fell in June for the third consecutive month, to the lowest level since September 2021.
OPEC separately announced that on Tuesday, the price of a barrel of oil from its member countries fell by 84 cents, to $87.82.
