Oil prices steady amid concerns over low demand, high supplies

Oil prices were steady today, Aug. 22, amid concerns over weak global demand due to the risks of a slowdown in the US economy and ample supplies as OPEC abandons some voluntary production cuts by October. 

Brent crude was trading at $76.04 at 08:20 am Makkah time, after falling 1.5% in the previous session. 

WTI crude fell 0.15% to $71.82 a barrel. 

The US Labor Department on Aug. 21 released revised data on jobs added over the 12 months ending in March 2024, bringing the figure down by about 818,000 jobs. This revived concerns of a slowdown in the world's largest economy, triggering fears of weak demand for oil in the future. 

In addition, markets are considering a global oil oversupply as OPEC abandons some voluntary production cuts in early October. This limited the positive impact of data from the US Energy Information Administration indicating strong demand for oil at present. 

Data released yesterday showed that US crude oil inventories fell by 4.6 million barrels last week, compared to expectations of a decline of only two million barrels.