Oil slips on weaker demand outlook as gold hits two-month high
London/Washington, Aug. 13 (SANA)Oil pricesedged lower on Thursday after forecasts pointed to weaker global demand, whilegold climbed to its highest levelin more than two months as slowingU.S. inflationreduced expectations of further interest rate increases.
Brent crude futures fell 0.1% to $88.88 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 0.2% to $83.06, according to CNBC.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Wednesday lowered its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2026 to 580,000 barrels per day.
TheInternational Energy Agency, meanwhile, forecast oil consumption would contract by 1.6 million barrels per day this year, citing fuel supply constraints and higher prices stemming from the war in the Middle East.
Oil prices also came under pressure afterU.S. commercial crudeinventories posted their biggest weekly increase since January 2023 as exports declined, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
However, concerns over potential supply disruptions and stalled talks betweenIran and the United Statesaimed at ending the war helped keep crude prices relatively elevated.
Goldclimbed to its highest level in more than two months on Thursday after U.S. inflation data eased expectations that theFederal Reservewould raise interest rates at its next meeting.
Spot gold rose 0.6% to $4,433.62 an ounce, whileU.S. goldfutures for December delivery gained 0.6% to $4,493, Reuters reported.
The gains came after annual U.S. inflation slowed to 3.4% in July, prompting investors to scale back expectations of another interest rate increase. Markets were also awaiting U.S. producer price data for further indications on the inflation outlook.
Among other precious metals, silver gained 1% to $65.91 an ounce, while platinum and palladium posted more modest increases.
Gold is generally considered a hedge againstinflation and economic uncertaintyand can benefit from lower interest rates, which reduce the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding metal.