Oil prices retreated a tad on Thursday on weak demand in the United States and broad oversupply risks, which countered concern over attacks in the Middle East and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Brent crude futures were down 14 cents, or 0.21%, at $67.35 a barrel by 0433 GMT, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures lost 15 cents, or 0.24%, to $63.53.
The benchmark contracts gained more than $1 each on Wednesday following Israel’s attack on Hamas leadership in Qatar the day before, and as Poland scrambled its own and NATO air defences to shoot down suspected Russian drones that had strayed into its airspace during an attack on western Ukraine.
The gains were a continuation of an upward trend for oil prices for much of this month after they hit a three-month low on September 5.
That said, neither event held any immediate risk of disruption to oil supplies, and market attention has turned to supply-and-demand balances, with rising oil stocks, falling producer prices and a slowing labour market pointing to a softening U.S. economy.
