Oil prices fell for a second session on Friday, falling further from a year-long high after OPEC again cut its demand forecast and the International Energy Agency said the market was still experiencing a supply surplus.
By 0743 GMT, Brent crude was down 39 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $ 60.75 a barrel, after dropping half a percent in the previous session.
US crude fell 44 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $ 57.80 a barrel, after falling 0.8 percent on Thursday.
The two benchmarks closed on Wednesday at their highest levels since January 2020 after successive near-record daily gains.
Oil prices have increased over the past few weeks as OPEC and other producers in the group known as OPEC + cut production, while Saudi Arabia pledged a unilateral production cut that began this month.
“OPEC production is likely to decline this month, led by declines in Saudi Arabia and Libya,” Capital Economics said. This will deepen the global market deficit and support prices. ”
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said that oil demand around the world in 2021 will recover at a much slower rate than previously thought.
Earlier, the International Energy Agency said that oil supplies still exceeded global demand, but the distribution of anti-Covid-19 vaccines is expected to contribute to a recovery in demand.
According to the US Energy Information Administration, crude oil inventories in the United States fell unexpectedly last week, dropping by more than six million barrels as refineries increased production to pre-pandemic levels.
Analysts in a Reuters poll had expected an increase of about one million barrels.
The article Oil prices continue to decline after OPEC cuts demand expectations, was written in Al Borsa newspaper
