WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices were mixed on Thursday amid looming concerns over a probable return of the Iranian oil supplies to the global markets.
Benchmark Brent crude futures were marginally lower at $91.53 a barrel, while WTI crude oil futures were up 0.3 percent at $89.91 per barrel.
As Iran nuclear deal talks enter the final stretch, investors fear that additional Iranian supplies alongside rising U.S. shale oil production would swing the balances into a sizeable surplus.
Crude oil production in the United States could reach 12.6 million barrels daily next year, which would be a record high on an annual-average basis, the Energy Information Administration said in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook.
On the positive side, the EIA data showed that U.S. crude inventories dropped by nearly 5 million barrels last week, the most for a week since October 2018 and three times the expected decline. Fuel demand rose to an all-time high, underscoring the market's ongoing tightness.
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