WTI Crude oil steadied near $77 per barrel on Thursday after rallying nearly 9% in the past three sessions, as investors took stock of conflicting market factors.
The International Energy Agency said that oil prices could rally next year as China recovers from the Covid-induced demand downturn and as the latest Western sanctions squeeze Russian supply.
Meanwhile, OPEC and Goldman Sachs warned that global energy demand could weaken next year, with the former reducing estimates for the amount of crude that it will need to pump in the coming months due to macroeconomic headwinds.
Elsewhere, the US Federal Reserve slowed the pace of its historic tightening campaign, raising interest rates by a more moderate half percentage point this week, but signaled that the fed funds rate could peak higher than anticipated next year.
Official data also showed that US crude inventories rose more than 10 million barrels last week, the largest build since March 2021
