LONDON: Oil rose slightly higher on Wednesday after strong Chinese factory activity, though concern over the pace of growth in US output, as well as other producing nations, meant there were limited gains.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said in its monthly report it expects supply from non-members to grow more quickly than it had previously expected.
And US oil production is set to rise further this year, OPEC also said on Wednesday, but the crude market will continue to rebalance as cartel members and Russia trim their output in a bid to support prices.
The group also reported the first increase in oil inventories across the world’s most industrialized nations in eight months in January, a sign the impact of its coordinated output cuts may be slowly waning, and cut its forecast for demand for its own crude.
Brent crude oil futures were last up 2 cents at $64.66 a barrel by 1410 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were up 11 cents at $60.82 a barrel.
“The OPEC report seems to illustrate that the speed of the market rebalancing is slowing,” Commerzbank strategist Carsten Fritsch said.
“(It suggests) the rebalancing can’t go much further from here and according to the OPEC report, demand for OPEC’S oil must be 33 million barrels per day for the rest of the year to get rid of any remaining oversupply.”
OPEC cut its forecast for demand for its own crude in 2018 by 250,000 bpd to 32.61 million bpd, marking the fourth consecutive decline.
Earlier in the day, oil prices got a boost from a broader investor push into commodities after Chinese data showed the world’s largest importer of raw materials saw industrial production grow more than expected over the first two months of the year.
ING commodities strategist Oliver Nugent said the Chinese industrial output was “reinforcing that bullish narrative” across the commodities market, including oil.
Rising US output, as well as seasonally low demand, mean US crude inventories rose by 1.2 million barrels in the week to March 9 to 428 million barrels, the American Petroleum Institute said on Tuesday.
Seasonal demand patterns for crude and refined products mean the market may only be weeks away from a run of declines.
“We are now only two to four weeks away from when weekly oil inventory data will start to draw again which should be supportive for oil prices,” SEB commodities strategist Bjarne Schieldrop said.
Weekly US crude production figures will be published by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) later on Wednesday.
Oil pares gains as OPEC sees rapid growth in rival supply
Oil pares gains as OPEC sees rapid growth in rival supply
Closing Bell: Saudi main market sheds 85 points to finish at 11,098
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index closed lower in the latest session, falling 85.79 points, or 0.77 percent, to finish at 11,098.06.
The MSCI Tadawul 30 Index declined 0.63 percent to close at 1,495.23, while the parallel market index Nomu dropped 0.91 percent to 23,548.56.
Market breadth was firmly negative, with 42 gainers against 218 decliners on the main market. Trading activity saw 226 million shares exchanged, with total turnover reaching SR4.5 billion ($1.19 billion).
Among the session’s gainers, Tourism Enterprise Co. rose 9.40 percent to SR15.02. SHL Finance Co. advanced 4.51 percent to SR16.00, while Almasar Alshamil for Education Co. gained 3.56 percent to SR23.88.
Dar Alarkan Real Estate Development Co. added 3.03 percent to SR19.70, and Banque Saudi Fransi climbed 2.61 percent to SR19.30.
On the losing side, Almasane Alkobra Mining Co. recorded the steepest decline, falling 6.61 percent to SR96.
Al Moammar Information Systems Co. dropped 5.14 percent to SR164.20, while National Company for Learning and Education declined 4.60 percent to SR124.30. Saudi Ceramic Co. slipped 4.14 percent to SR27.30, and Arabian Contracting Services Co. fell 4.12 percent to SR116.50.
On the announcement front, Saudi Telecom Co. announced the distribution of interim cash dividends for the fourth quarter of 2025 in line with its approved dividend policy.
The company will distribute SR2.74 billion, equivalent to SR0.55 per share, to shareholders for the quarter.
The number of shares eligible for dividends stands at approximately 4.99 billion shares. The eligibility date has been set for Feb. 23, with distribution scheduled for March 12.
The company noted that treasury shares are not entitled to dividends and that payments will be made through Riyad Bank via direct transfer to shareholders’ bank accounts. stc shares last traded at SR44.80, unchanged on the session.
Separately, National Environmental Recycling Co., known as Tadweer, reported its annual financial results for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025, posting significant growth in revenue and profit.
Revenue rose 53.5 percent year on year to SR1.24 billion, compared with SR806 million in the previous year. Net profit attributable to shareholders increased 68.4 percent to SR60.9 million, up from SR36.2 million a year earlier, driven by higher sales volumes and operational expansion.
Tadweer shares last traded at SR3.80, up 2.70 percent.
