Oil slips on US-China tensions and gloomy demand outlook

The bank lowered its 2019 price outlook, mostly because of demand concerns, forecasting that global oil supplies will exceed consumption in the first half of next year.

On Tuesday, Trump dismissed fears that the trade row with China could be drawn out further. His comments failed to prevent shares in Asia from falling for an eighth straight session on Wednesday.

“The most significant outcome of the ramp-up in tariff measures will be through increased economic and trade uncertainties, negatively impacting physical oil and gas demand and market sentiment,” Fitch Solutions said in a note.

At the same time, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East remain high after Iran seized a number of tankers in recent weeks in the Strait of Hormuz, a major choke point for oil shipments. Saudi Arabia energy minister Khalid Al-Falih and US energy secretary Rick Perry expressed mutual concern on Tuesday over threats targeting freedom of maritime traffic in the Arabian Gulf.

“There are concerns that an event could occur at any moment … the risk might be shifting to the upside in the near-term for oil contracts,” said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets.

Elsewhere, data indicating a larger-than-expected drop in US crude stocks offered some support to oil prices after several weeks of large draws on inventories. Official data from the government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) is due on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA)  lowered its domestic oil growth forecasts for the year after Hurricane Barry disrupted Gulf of Mexico output in July. Production is set to rise by 1.28-million barrels per day (bpd) to 12.27-million bpd this year.

Reuters