Oil continues its losses and the impact of demand concerns outweighs the lack of supplies

Oil prices fell for the second consecutive session Thursday, July 21, as demand concerns outweighed concerns about tight global supplies after US government data revealed weak gasoline consumption in the peak summer travel season.

Brent crude futures fell 33 cents, or 0.3%, to $106.59 a barrel, after falling 0.4% in the previous session.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 48 cents, or 0.5%, to $99.40 a barrel, after falling 1.9% on Wednesday.

Oil prices remained volatile after traders were forced to prepare for a larger drop in global supplies due to the absence of Russian oil from the markets after Moscow’s war in Ukraine, as well as fears of a recession that could dampen energy demand.

And government data revealed on Wednesday that US gasoline stocks rose 3.5 million barrels last week, sharply exceeding analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll of an increase of 71 thousand barrels.

Concerns about Libyan supplies eased after the National Oil Corporation announced yesterday, Wednesday, the resumption of production in several oil fields after the lifting of force majeure on oil exports last week.