Crude oil futures fell on Thursday as the World Bank cut its global economic growth forecast, ending a two-day rally triggered by a sharp U.S. inventory drawdown, Reuters reported on June 11, 2015.
In its twice-yearly Global Economic Prospects report, the World Bank predicted the global economy would expand 2.8 percent this year, below its 3 percent outlook in January, with India recording the biggest growth of major economies for the first time, ahead of slowing China.
Front-month Brent crude oil prices were down 13 cents at $65.57 a barrel by 0112 ET, while U.S. crude shed 23 cents to trade at $61.20 a barrel.
“Considering China’s economic slowdown, we lean towards lower prices today,” said Daniel Ang, an analyst at Singapore-based Phillip Futures.
In South Korea, the world’s No.5 importer of crude oil, the central bank cut its policy rate by 25 basis points to a record-low 1.50 percent in a bid to shield a tottering economy from an outbreak of a deadly respiratory disease.
summer fuel demand.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that crude oil stocks shrank by 6.8 million barrels last week, their largest drop in almost a year and four times more than forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll.
The premium for turning U.S. crude into gasoline hit a 2-1/2 month peak on Wednesday as inventories tumbled from seasonal highs and the market anticipated demand growth from the peak summer season for road travel.