Petroleum prices edged higher on Wednesday as investors looked for bargains following the previous day’s plunge. However, gains were capped as pandemic lockdowns in Europe and a build in U.S. crude stocks curbed risk appetite and raised oversupply fears.
Brent crude futures rose $1.52, or 2.5%, to $62.31 U.S. per barrel, after tumbling 5.9% and hitting a low of $60.50 the previous day.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed $1.52, or 2.6%, to trade at $59.28 U.S. per barrel, having lost 6.2% and touched a low of $57.32 on Tuesday.
Both benchmarks descended to lows not seen since early February on Tuesday and have now fallen more than 14% from their recent highs earlier this month.
Germany, Europe’s biggest oil consumer, extended its lockdown to Monday, April 18, and Chancellor Angela Merkel urged citizens to stay at home for five days over the Easter holiday. (April 2-6)
Worries over the pace of the recovery from the pandemic were also heightened after a U.S. health agency said the AstraZeneca Plc (NASDAQ:AZN) vaccine developed with Oxford University may have included outdated information in its data.
Adding to pressure, U.S. crude oil stocks jumped by 2.9 million barrels in the week to March 19, against analysts’ expectations in an economist’ poll for a decline of about 300,000 barrels, according to the industry group known as the American Petroleum Institute.
But gasoline stocks fell by 3.7 million barrels, compared with expectations for a build of 1.2 million barrels.
