HOUSTON:
Tuesday’s tumultuous trading saw little movement in oil prices as investors questioned OPEC+ intentions to cut production further and mediocre US and Chinese growth statistics that could affect oil demand.
By 1505 GMT, Brent crude futures had fallen 30 cents to $84.63 per barrel. US WTI crude futures were trading 23 cents lower at $80.19 per barrel. After OPEC+ shocked the market on Monday by announcing voluntary production cuts of 1.66 million barrels per day (bpd) starting in May, both benchmarks increased by more than 6%.
By the end of this year, Goldman Sachs increased its projection for Brent to $95 per barrel, and to $100 by 2024.
However, concerns about demand were increased by a decline in US industrial output in March to its lowest level in nearly three years and by sluggish factory activity in China the previous month.