Oil stages a slight recovery as a weak economic outlook lingers. After falling to a six-month low the day before, oil prices recovered some ground they had lost on Thursday. However, investors continued to be concerned about the slow demand in China and the United States.

At 09:24 GMT, a barrel of Brent oil futures had increased by 76 cents, or 1%, to $75.06. The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate oil futures in the United States increased by 67 cents, or 1%, to $70.05.

“With the largest global importer of oil (China) shuttering its thirst for crude, pressure remains on prices as the largest producer, the United States, continues with headline output,” according to PVM Oil analyst John Evans.

In a note they wrote, the experts at ANZ claimed that data showing that American output is still at record highs despite falling inventories during the previous session scared the market.

The United States’ gasoline stockpiles (USOILG=ECI) increased by 5.4 million barrels last week, reaching 223.6 million barrels, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday. This figure is significantly more than the anticipated one million barrel increase.

In addition, worries regarding China’s economy stifled oil price increases. According to statistics from Chinese customs, crude oil imports in November decreased by nine percent compared to the same month a year earlier. This decline may be attributed to declining demand from independent refiners, high inventory levels, and adverse economic indicators.

Although China’s overall imports fell every month, the country’s exports increased for the first time in six months in November. This indicates that the manufacturing sector may be beginning to profit from an increase in the flow of global commerce.

On Wednesday, Moody’s rating agency issued a downgrade warning for Hong Kong, Macau, and many of China’s state-owned enterprises and banks. This warning came only one day after Moody’s issued a downgrade notice for China’s sovereign credit rating.

Since the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, collectively called OPEC+, announced a joint voluntary output cut of 2.2 million barrels per day for the first quarter of the beginning of the following year, the oil price has decreased by around ten percent.

While everything was going on, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met on Wednesday to explore additional oil price cooperation as members of OPEC+. Every meeting may boost the market’s confidence in the impact of output cuts.

On Wednesday, Algeria, a member of OPEC+, stated that it would not rule out the possibility of extending or intensifying oil production cuts. Oil prices have reached a fresh five-month low, even though OPEC+ announced cutbacks the previous week.

Alexander Novak, the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, stated on Tuesday that the group was prepared to increase the number of oil production cutbacks implemented during the first quarter of 2024 to reduce what he referred to as speculation and instability.

Sources at OPEC+ and ship-tracking companies informed Reuters that Russia has agreed to divulge more details regarding the volume of its gasoline refining and exports. This news comes after OPEC+ requested that Moscow provide greater openness over classified fuel shipments from several export sites around the country.