Oil prices falls more than 1% as growth fears offset China demand hopes

By Stephanie Kelly

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Brent crude oil slipped more than 1% in a volatile session on Tuesday as persistent concerns about global economic growth outweighed supply curbs and prompted investors to take profits on the previous day's gains.

The focus in the wider financial market is firmly on the release on Wednesday of the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest meeting, after recent data raised the risk of interest rates remaining higher for longer.

Global benchmark Brent crude was down $1.13 at $82.94 a barrel by 10:56 a.m. EST (1556 GMT).

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) for March, which expires on Tuesday, fell 24 cents to $76.10. The second-month contract slipped 25 cents at $76.30.

 

The price moves today "seem to be more technical in nature," said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group. "We seem to be fading off on the same, old concerns that the dollar is going to be strong and about the interest rate situation."

A stronger greenback makes dollar-denominated oil more expensive for holders of other currencies. [USD/]

Earlier in the session, the market rallied, with Brent briefly turning positive, after better-than-expected business activity surveys in Europe and Britain pointed to a less gloomy European economic outlook than previously feared.

On Monday, oil prices rose by more than 1% on optimism over Chinese demand that analysts expect to rebound this year after COVID-19 restrictions were scrapped.

The WTI contract did not settle on Monday because of a public holiday in the United States, which has also delayed by a day both industry and official weekly U.S. oil inventory reports, respectively to Wednesday and Thursday.

Signs of tighter supply also lent prices some support.

Russia plans to cut crude oil production by 500,000 barrels per day, or about 5% of its output, in March after the West imposed price caps on Russian oil and oil products over the invasion of Ukraine.

The cut, announced this month, will apply only to March output for now, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday, according to news agency reports.

Russia is part of the OPEC+ group comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, which agreed in October to cut oil production targets by 2 million bpd until the end of 2023.

(Reporting by Stephanie Kelly in New YorkAdditional reporting by Alex Lawler in London, Sudarshan Varadhan in Singapore and Yuka Obayashi in TokyoEditing by Marguerita Choy and Susan Fenton)