Written by Florence Tan
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices eased on Monday as the threat of supply disruptions from a U.S. hurricane receded and after China's stimulus program disappointed investors looking for growth in fuel demand from the world's No. 2 oil producer.
Brent crude futures were down 19 cents, or 0.3%, at $73.68 a barrel by 0104 GMT while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $70.13 a barrel, down 25 cents, or 0.4 %.
Both benchmarks fell more than 2% last Friday.
Beijing's stimulus package announced at the National People's Congress (NPC) standing committee meeting on Friday fell short of market expectations, IG market analyst Tony Sycamore wrote, adding that its top guidance points to only limited stimulus for housing and consumption.
ANZ analysts said the lack of direct fiscal stimulus meant China's policymakers had left room to assess the impact of policies to be introduced by the next US administration.
“The market will now focus on the Politburo meeting and the Central Economic Conference in December, where we expect anti-pro-consumption measures to be announced,” he added in the paper.
China's oil consumption, which has been driving global demand for years, has not increased in 2024 as economic growth has slowed, gasoline consumption has fallen with the rapid growth of electric vehicles and liquefied natural gas has replaced diesel as truck fuel.
Oil prices also fell after worries about supply disruptions from Hurricane Rafael in the US Gulf of Mexico eased.
More than a quarter of the US Gulf of Mexico oil and 16% of natural gas remained offline on Sunday, according to the offshore energy regulator.
Looking ahead, the uncertainty of policies under US President-elect Donald Trump has clouded the global economic situation although he is expected to tighten sanctions on OPEC producers Iran and Venezuela and reduce the supply of oil to the global market in part causing oil prices to gain more than 1% in the end. a week.
Oil markets are also supported by strong demand from US refiners who are expected to operate their plants at more than 90% of their capacity to refine in low-lying areas and improving demand for gasoline and diesel, executives and industry experts said.
(Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Sonali Paul)
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