The most-active US oil’s West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures for August delivery fell $0.13, or 0.28 percent, at $45.82 per barrel.
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Oil rose above $46 a barrel in after-market trading in NY as Turkish army officers said they seized power in the country and tanks blocked roads in Istanbul.
Prices had Thursday recovered from two-month lows on the back of expectations of more stimulus measures in major economies. The most-active Brent futures for September delivery rose $0.09, or 0.19 percent, at $47.70 per barrel.
A stronger dollar weighed on prices, although upbeat economic data from the United States and China that supported the outlook for global oil demand lent support. Total volume traded was 20 percent above the 100-day average at 2:45. “Oil prices pushed higher after the attempted coup in Turkey raised concerns about supply disruptions”.
“Robust European demand supported second quarter 2016 global demand growth at around 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) year-on-year, momentum that will be roughly matched through the year as a whole”, a report by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on its July Market Report stated.
Although crude imports may abate in the second half of the year compared with the first six months, due to port congestions and refiners running out of import quotas, overall demand should still be healthy, Mr. Jian said.
While the price rout has led to a sharp drop in global oil output, inventories in tankers and onshore storage facilities worldwide remain stubbornly high.
Oil prices rose as much as 2% on Thursday, extending early gains as traders covered short positions a day after crude futures were hammered by weak U.S. demand for fuel during the traditionally busy summer driving season.
The number of oil rigs operating in the USA advanced for the third straight week to the highest level since the period ending April 1, according to data from oil services firm Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI). That prompted analysts to predict the USA oil rig count has bottomed and production will start to edge up by early next year.
“We haven’t sorted out our excess supply problems”, Tchilinguirian said.
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The market had tumbled on Wednesday after official U.S. data showed a smaller-than-expected decline in crude stockpiles.
