(Bloomberg) — Oil gained in Asia after dropping more than 2% on Tuesday, as an industry report pointed to a further decline in US crude stockpiles.
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Brent rose toward $80 a barrel, with West Texas Intermediate trading above $75. The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute forecast that nationwide inventories fell by 3.4 million barrels last week, which would mark the eighth decline in nine if confirmed by official data later Wednesday.
Crude has been buffeted in recent sessions, with the most recent decline coming after futures rallied to near their 200-day moving average. Political risk in the Middle East and a threat to supply from Libya supported recent gains, but have been countered by a broadly bearish undertone — leading top Wall Street banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley to shave their price forecasts for next year.
The two banks also flagged a dour outlook in China for some of their pessimism, as wider economic malaise and a switch to electric vehicles dents fuel consumption in the biggest crude importer. In Europe, diesel demand is seen falling to below pandemic-era levels on weak manufacturing and structural shifts in the region’s car fleet.
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