Oil prices ease as weak economic data clouds demand prospects

By Katya Golubkova

TOKYO (Reuters) – Oil prices eased in early Asian trade on Thursday after weak U.S. job openings data signalled cooling economic conditions which may hit demand.

West Texas Intermediate U.S. crude was down 14 cents to $80.47 a barrel at 2241 GMT. On Wednesday, Brent crude futures settled up 5 cents, or 0.1%, at $84.99 a barrel.

Prices jumped by more than 6% on Monday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, collectively known as OPEC+, pledged voluntary production cuts.

Yet U.S. job openings in February dropped to the lowest level in nearly two years, suggesting that the labour market was cooling. The data offset markets reaction to earlier OPEC+ cuts and the recent reduction of U.S. crude and fuel stockpiles.

“Crude oils rally paused as it battled the headwinds created by the weak economic data. This offset more positive fundamentals”, ANZ Research said in a note.

On a support side, Saudi Arabia, the worlds top oil exporter, has raised the prices of its flagship crude for Asian buyers for the third straight month.

“This points to further strength in demand in the region,” ANZ Research added.

U.S. crude inventories fell 3.7 million barrels last week, about 1.5 million barrels more than forecast, government data showed.

Gasoline and distillate stocks also fell more than expected, drawing down by 4.1 million barrels and 3.6 million barrels, respectively.

(Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Stephen Coates)