Melbourne — Oil prices were mostly flat on Thursday, as a boost from lower-than-expected US crude stocks that lifted the market to five-month highs in the previous session gave way to fuel demand concerns amid rising coronavirus infections.
The two benchmark contracts rose more than 1% on Wednesday to their highest level since March 6, completing a four-day rally, after the Energy Information Administration reported a much bigger than expected drop in US crude stockpiles. EIA data showed distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, climbed to a 38-year-high, and gasoline inventories unexpectedly rose for a second week in a row.
The EIA calculated that gasoline demand remains around 8.6-million barrels a day, about 10% lower than a year earlier, just as the US driving season, which ANZ Research called the “world’s biggest seasonal demand period”, was winding down.