DTN Oil Update
Oil Futures Mixed Amid Weak Demand, Ample Supply Outlook
HOUSTON (DTN) -- Crude oil futures rebounded Friday morning despite the International Energy Agency forecasting on Thursday that oil supply will exceed the global demand in 2025, driven by an escalation of the trade tariff war.
The front-month NYMEX WTI futures contract edged up by $0.24 to $66.79 bbl while the ICE Brent futures contract for May delivery increased by $0.26 to $70.14 bbl. In the opposite direction, April RBOB futures contract fell by $0.0026 to $2.1305 gallon and April ULSD futures climbed by $0.0133 to $2.1489 gallon.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index fell by 0.16% to 103.7 against a basket of foreign currencies.
Expectations of abundant global supplies are expected to continue putting pressure on oil futures markets as uncertainty about the impact of trade tariffs on the global economy persist.
The IEA forecasted Thursday that the growth in global oil demand is set to accelerate to over 1 million bpd in 2025, from 830,000 bpd in 2024 to reach 103.9 million bpd. In its Oil Market Report, the IEA anticipates that Asia will account for nearly 60% of gains due to a growth of Chinese petrochemical feedstocks.
Domestically, abundant supplies were also confirmed this week by Energy Information Administration and the American Petroleum Institute data showing a build in U.S. crude inventories for the week ended March 7.
The EIA reported commercial crude oil inventories rose by 1.4 million bbl to 435.2 million bbl last week, lower than the 4.247 million bbl build reported by API for the same week.
The trade tensions ignited by tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on imported goods from China, Canada and Mexico have affected recently the projections of global supply and demand fundamentals and price forecast for the two main oil benchmarks.
