TOKYO, April 15 (Reuters) - Oil prices were lower on
Thursday though holding near one-month highs after futures
jumped in the previous as the International Energy Agency (IEA)
and others upgraded forecasts for oil demand as major economies
recover from the pandemic.
Brent crude LCOc1 was down by 21 cents, or 0.3%, at $66.37
a barrel by 0129 GMT, after gaining 4.6% on Wednesday and
closing at the highest since March 17.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures CLc1 dropped 25
cents, or 0.4%, to $62.9 a barrel, having risen 4.9% in the
previous session.
U.S. crude inventories USOILC=ECI were down by 5.9 million
barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA)
said on Wednesday, more than double analysts' expectations for a
2.9 million-barrel decline. East Coast crude stocks hit a record
low. EIA/S
"We see robust stock draws even after factoring in bearish
risks as refinery runs are set to rise sharply in the coming
months," Citi Research analysts said in a note.
Gasoline supplied to the market last week, an indicator of
U.S. consumption of the fuel, increased to 8.9 million barrels
per day (bpd), the highest since August, the EIA report said.
Global oil demand and supply are set to be rebalanced in the
second half of this year after the evaporation of demand in 2020
as the COVID-19 pandemic raged, according to the IEA's monthly
report.
Producers may then need to pump a further 2 million bpd to
meet the demand. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC), which has been withholding supply in tandem with other
producers including Russia, this week raised its forecast for
global oil demand this year.
OPEC expects demand to rise by 70,000 bpd from last month's
forecast and global demand is likely to rise by 5.95 million bpd
in 2021, it said.