WTI crude futures steadied above $68 per barrel on Thursday after losing more than 6% in the past two sessions, but remains under pressure as a surprise build in US crude inventories and signs of weaker Chinese demand weighed on the market. Data from the American Petroleum Institute showed that US crude stockpiles jumped by 5.202 million barrels last week, defying expectations for a 1.22 million barrel decrease. Official data released Wednesday also showed that Chinese manufacturing activity contracted at a faster pace in May, fueling concerns about weaker demand in the world’s top crude importer. However, a private survey released Thursday pointed to an unexpected growth in Chinese manufacturing activity in May. Meanwhile, markets are bracing for the upcoming June 4 meeting of OPEC+, where investors remain split on whether the group would cut production further following mixed signals from key officials.
Historically, Crude oil reached an all time high of 147.27 in July of 2008. Crude oil - data, forecasts, historical chart - was last updated on June of 2023.
Crude oil is expected to trade at 73.49 USD/BBL by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate it to trade at 80.96 in 12 months time.