Oil prices rebounded on Wednesday from sharp losses in the previous session as concerns about tighter supplies from Russia and Libya dominated, while industry data showed a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week.
Brent crude futures rose 98 cents, or 0.9%, to $108.23 a barrel by 0400 GMT while the front-month WTI crude futures contract, which expires on Wednesday, rose 94 cents, or 0.9%, to $103.50 a barrel.
The second-month contract gained $1.07 to $103.12 a barrel. Both benchmarks fell 5.2% in volatile trading on Tuesday after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday slashed its forecast for global growth by nearly a full percentage point, citing the economic impacts of Russia’s war in Ukraine, and warning that inflation was now a “clear and present danger” for many countries.
“The sell-off yesterday on the back of the IMF revisions was probably overdone,” said Warren Patterson, ING’s head of commodities strategy based in Singapore. “I believe that risks are still skewed to the upside, with the potential for further disruptions from Libya, but more importantly, the potential for an EU ban on Russian oil.”
