Oil prices mixed as market weigh OPEC+ cuts, concerns of decline in China demand

Oil prices were mixed in Asian trade on Wednesday, after posting four sessions' worth of losses, as markets weighed the effectiveness of OPEC+ cuts on supplies and worries of a worsening demand outlook in China.

Brent crude futures climbed 1 cents to $77.21 a barrel. While US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) futures were down 4 cents at $72.28 a barrel.

Both benchmarks closed at their lowest level since July 6 in the previous session, with WTI seeing four consecutive days of declines.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia (OPEC+) agreed on voluntary output cuts of about 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first quarter of 2024 late last week.

Concerns over China's economic health, which could limit overall fuel demand in the world's No. 2 oil consumer, also weighed.

On Tuesday, rating agency Moody's lowered the outlook on China's A1 rating to negative from stable, citing "increased risks related to structurally and persistently lower medium-term economic growth and the ongoing downsizing of the property sector".

Weighing further on fundamentals, crude oil and fuel inventories in the US rose in the week to Dec. 1, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. (QNA)