Oil prices marginally decline following predicted surge in US output

Oil prices fell slightly on Tuesday due to a higher-than-expected forecast for US crude oil production and bearish economic data.

Brent futures for May delivery settled 29 cents, -0.34% lower, at $82.13 per barrel, while the April US West Texas Intermediate crude contract ended 15 cents, -0.21% lower, at $77.77 per barrel at the time of writing.

US consumer prices increased solidly in February, according to Tuesday’s data in the United States, largely due to higher costs for gasoline and shelter. The Fed will not move to lower rates until June.

OPEC increased its forecast for this year’s economic growth while sticking to its expectation of high rise in the world’s oil demand in 2024 and 2025. Despite an earlier prediction of a rise of 170,000 barrels per day, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) increased its expectation for domestic oil output growth by 260,000 barrels per day to 13.19 million barrels in 2024.

Thursday is anticipated to see the release of the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) oil supply and demand prediction. In the first two months of the year, there was an increase in crude imports but a softer demand, according to Chinese economic data.