Oil prices fell on Thursday after a surge in the previous session on a bigger-than-expected U.S. gasoline stock report, as markets saw macroeconomic concerns over strong near-term demand.
Brent futures fell 5 cents to $70.9 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 10 cents to $67.58 a barrel.
Both benchmarks rose about 2% on Wednesday as U.S. government data showed tighter-than-expected oil and fuel inventories.
U.S. gasoline inventories fell by 5.7 million barrels, more than the 1.9 million barrels expected by analysts, while distillate stocks also fell more than expected despite a rise in crude stocks.
Hiroyuki Kikukawa, Chief Strategist at Nissan Securities Investment, said the decline in U.S. gasoline inventories raised expectations for a seasonally adjusted demand pick-up in the spring, but concerns about the global economic impact of the tariff war weighed on the market.
With strong and weak factors developing simultaneously, it is difficult for the market to lean statically in one direction or the other.
In addition, the threat of tariffs has shaken investor, consumer and business confidence and raised fears of a US recession.
Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said on Wednesday that Kazakhstan led a large jump in February crude oil production by the broader OPEC+.
This highlights the challenge for the producer group in enforcing compliance with agreed production targets
