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Oil little altered as falling US stockpiles outweigh soft demand outlook

Oil rates were little changed on Wednesday, after falling the previous day, as a dip in U.S. unrefined stockpiles and expectations of supply disruptions from sanctions on Russian tankers provided support amid forecasts for lower international fuel demand.

Brent unrefined futures were up 2 cents to $79.94 a. barrel by 0205 GMT, after dropping 1.4% in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude increased 12 cents, or. 0.15%, to $77.62 a barrel after a 1.6% drop.

Prices slipped on Tuesday after the U.S. Energy Info. Administration predicted oil will be under pressure over the. next two years as supply ought to exceed demand.

However, the marketplace discovered assistance on Wednesday from a drop. in crude stockpiles in the U.S., the world's most significant oil. customer, reported by the American Petroleum Institute late on. Tuesday and the expectations for supply disruptions after the. U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions Russian oil producers. and its so-called shadow fleet of tankers.

Oil rates are trading firmer in early morning trading in. Asia today after API numbers revealed that U.S. crude oil. inventories fell more than anticipated over the recently, said. ING analysts.

The analysts added that while crude oil stocks in the. nation's flagship storage center Cushing, Oklahoma, increased by. 600,000 barrels, stocks are still historically low. Cushing. in the shipment location for WTI futures contracts.

The API reported U.S. petroleum stocks fell by 2.6 million. barrels in the week ended Jan. 10, according to market sources. mentioning the API figures. They included that gasoline inventories. increased by 5.4 million barrels while distillate stocks climbed up by. 4.88 million barrels.

A Reuters survey showed that U.S. petroleum stockpiles fell by. about 1 million barrels in the week to Jan. 10, ahead of an. upcoming report from the Energy Info Administration, the. analytical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, at 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT) on Wednesday.

In its report, the EIA anticipates Brent rates to fall 8% to. typical $74 a barrel in 2025, then fall even more to $66 a barrel. in 2026, while WTI will balance $70 in 2025 and be up to $62 next. year.

International need is anticipated to average 104.1 million barrels. each day in 2025, below the prior estimate of 104.3 million. bpd, the EIA stated. That would be less than its supply projection. for oil and liquid fuel production to average 104.4 million bpd. in 2025.

(source: Reuters)