Oil pares losses on tight supply but cloudy demand caps gains

Oil prices inched higher on Wednesday underpinned by signs of near-term supply tightness but held near their lowest in two weeks, a day after OPEC downgraded its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2024 and 2025.

Brent futures rose 14 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $72.03 a barrel by 0745 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 13 cents, or 0.2 per cent, at $68.25.

“Crude oil prices edged higher as tightness in the physical market offset bearish sentiment on demand.