Oil Prices Stay Flat After Recent Drop Due to Weak Demand and Oversupply

TOKYO: Oil prices stayed mostly unchanged on Thursday after falling to two-week lows on Wednesday. The market is still under pressure because of weak demand and too much oil supply worldwide.

Brent crude increased slightly by 2 cents to $63.54 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) stayed flat at $59.60.
According to J.P. Morgan, global oil demand has gone up by 850,000 barrels per day so far this year, which is less than the earlier forecast of 900,000 barrels per day. The bank said U.S. oil use is still low because fewer people are traveling and container shipping has decreased.
On Wednesday, prices fell after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. crude stocks rose by 5.2 million barrels to 421.2 million barrels last week. This was much higher than the expected rise of 603,000 barrels.

Capital Economics said it expects oil prices to stay under pressure, predicting an average of $60 per barrel by the end of 2025 and $50 per barrel by the end of 2026.

Oil prices have also dropped for the third month in a row due to fears of oversupply. OPEC and its partners have increased production, while non-OPEC countries continue to produce more oil.