Oil increases as supply fears overtake recession worries

Oil rebounded on Thursday after declining 1 percent in the previous session as concerns over tight supplies heading into winter eclipsed fears of a global recession.

Brent crude futures inched up 50 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $90.33 per barrel by 0319 GMT, recouping their losses in early Asia trade.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude edged up 45 cents to $83.39.

Both benchmarks decreased to a near two-week low on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 75 basis points for the third time to tame inflation and signalled that borrowing costs would keep rising this year.

The market had priced in rate rise expectation and the announcement from the Fed did not generate much surprise, according to analysts from Haitong Futures.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called up 300,000 reservists to fight in Ukraine and backed a plan to annex parts of the country. They said escalated the conflict and intensified the risk of geopolitical runaway.

In the same time, some Chinese refineries are considering rising runs in October, eyeing stronger demand and a potential reversal of Beijing’s fuel export policy, which could boost crude oil demand.

But oil prices still under selling pressure due to inventory stock builds and a worsening economic outlook, according to Citi analysts.

U.S. crude inventories increased by 1.1 million barrels in the week to Sept. 16 to 430.8 million barrels, smaller than analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.2 million-barrel rise.

The jumping dollar also put a lid on oil price gains as it is making crude more expensive for many buyers. The dollar index reached a 20-year high against a basket of other currencies on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, Germany nationalized gas importer Uniper on Wednesday and Britain informed that it would halve energy bills for businesses in response to a deepening supply crisis that has exposed Europe’s reliance on Russian fuel.

Leave a comment