Oil prices fluctuate amid supply, demand fears

Oil prices rose slightly on Thursday but they fluctuated as investors fear tightening Russian supplies and the prospect of slowing fuel demand in China.

Brent crude futures were down 17 cents or 0.2% to trade at $105.49 a barrel by 0939 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 26 cents or by 0.3% to trade at $102.28, Reuters reported.

Both contracts had climbed 30 cents yesterday on fears over less global oil supplies and another drawdown in U.S. distillate and gasoline stocks.

It is worth noting that the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday that crude stocks rose by only 692,000 barrels last week, short of expectations, but distillate inventories including diesel and jet fuel declined to their lowest since May 2008.

Russian oil production may dip by 17% in 2022, according to an economy ministry document seen by Reuters.

In China, Beijing raises lockdown procedures in some public spaces and stepped up COVID-19 checks at others as most of the city’s 22 million residents embarked on more mass testing in an effort to avert a Shanghai-like lockdown.