NEW YORK/LONDON (dpa-AFX) – Oil prices fell on Thursday. A barrel (159 liters) of North Sea Brent for delivery in April cost 69.13 US dollars in the morning. That was 27 cents less than the day before. The price of U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil for March delivery fell 16 cents to $64.47.
Global crude oil inventories rose more sharply last year than at any time since 2020. Inventories have increased by an “extraordinary” 477 million barrels, reports the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its monthly report. This reflects an increased supply and a slowing growth in demand. This persistent excess supply has repeatedly put pressure on prices and, according to analysts, is likely to dampen price developments this year too.
The US crude oil inventory figures published on Wednesday did not weigh on oil prices. According to the Energy Ministry, these rose by 8.5 million barrels last week. Analysts, however, had expected stagnation.
Markets will continue to look at the conflict between the US and Iran, traders said. After a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump made it clear that he prefers an agreement with Iran to military steps at this time. However, traders fear that a military conflict could break out. Oil prices have recently repeatedly benefited from geopolitical conflicts./jsl/la/stk