After shedding some 6% over the past three trading days, oil prices were once again under pressure on Wednesday morning as economic concerns and hopes of containment in the Middle East balanced out the latest weekly oil inventory report from the American Petroleum Institute.
The API estimated a decline in inventories while analysts had expected a build. This would normally push oil prices higher but this upward pressure was countered by politicians pushing for a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza and continued economic concerns.
On the headwind side, S&P Global reported disappointing business activity data for the eurozone, which appears to have surprised some observers despite multiple indications Europe’s single-currency zone was suffering the effects of higher energy costs and equally higher interest rates.