* Global oil demand seen down 10.9% in 2020 from 2019
-Rystad
* Saudi Arabia raises June official selling prices
* China's exports rise instead of dropping sharply as
expected
* Easing of coronavirus lockdowns lend support
* U.S. WTI on track for record weekly percentage gain
(Adds latest prices, analyst comment, analyst demand forecast)
By Scott DiSavino
NEW YORK, May 7 (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped on Thursday
as global supply and demand worries erased earlier gains seen
from an increase in Saudi Arabia's official crude selling price
and a surprise rise in Chinese exports last month.
Brent LCOc1 futures fell 26 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at
$29.46 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude
CLc1 lost 44 cents, or 1.8%, to settle at $23.55.
Earlier in the day, Brent was up over 5% and WTI up over
10%. For the week, Brent was still up about 11% and WTI up about
18%.
Both benchmarks have rallied sharply this week as countries
have eased coronavirus-related lockdowns and fuel demand has
rebounded modestly. Oil production worldwide is also declining
to reduce a growing supply glut. "We continue to be in a volatile market and this price pull
back does not surprise me. I think there was some profit
taking," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New
York.
"The Saudi (price news) was supportive early in the day, but
we still have significant headwinds in terms of the economy,
demand and storage," Kilduff said.
U.S. crude inventories at the Cushing storage hub in
Oklahoma rose by about 407,000 barrels in the week through May
5, traders said citing Genscape data.
U.S. jobless claims, meanwhile, continued to rise, although
at a slower pace with 3.2 million more people seeking
unemployment benefits for the week ended May 2. The latest
numbers lifted the total to about 33 million claims since March
21. Analysts at Rystad Energy projected global oil demand would
decrease 10.9% in 2020 to 88.7 million barrels per day (bpd)
from around 99.5 million bpd in 2019. Last week, the energy
consultant forecast demand next year would average 88.8 million
bpd.
Oil prices were much higher earlier in the day following
reports from Saudi Arabia on crude prices and imports and
exports in China.
Saudi Arabia increased its official selling prices (OSP) for
June after cutting May exports to almost the lowest in a decade
following a deal by global producers to reduce output to prop up
prices. "It is ... likely seen as a strong indication that the
Kingdom will follow through on its pledged supply cuts agreed at
the 12 April OPEC+ emergency meeting," Harry Tchilinguirian,
head of commodity research at BNP Paribas, said.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
and allied producers - a grouping known as OPEC+ - agreed to cut
production from May 1 by around 10 million bpd to help support
prices.
In China, meanwhile, oil imports climbed to 10.42 million
bpd in April from 9.68 million bpd in March, according to
Reuters calculations based on customs data for the first four
months of 2020.
However, the country's imports for all goods fell,
suggesting any recovery is some way off as economies around the
world fall into recession.