Oil edged lower as China’s lackluster recovery overshadowed a bullish outlook from the International Energy Agency and positive US data.
West Texas Intermediate futures traded below $71 a barrel after closing 0.4% lower on Tuesday. Some investment banks cut forecasts for China’s economic growth this year after weak April data, although the IEA remains upbeat on the Asian nation’s demand prospects following the end of Covid curbs.
To get Bloomberg’s Energy Daily newsletter direct into your inbox, click here.
Crude is down around 12% this year as China’s slower-than-expected recovery, a campaign of aggressive monetary tightening from the Federal Reserve, and more recent concerns over the US debt ceiling weigh on the outlook. Still, US retail sales rose in April, suggesting that consumer spending in the world’s biggest economy is holding up in the face of economic headwinds.
The IEA forecast global demand will rise by 2.2 million barrels a day in 2023 to a record 102 million, betting that China’s demand will reach an all-time high after it abruptly abandoned its harsh Covid Zero policy late last year.
