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Oil Prices Broadly Flat After Falling On Dollar Surge

FILE PHOTO: Pump jacks operate in front of a drilling rig in an oil field in Midland, Texas US August 22, 2018. Picture taken August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Nick Oxford/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Pump jacks operate in front of a drilling rig in an oil field in Midland, Texas US August 22, 2018. Picture taken August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Nick Oxford/File Photo
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Oil Prices Broadly Flat After Falling On Dollar Surge

FILE PHOTO: Pump jacks operate in front of a drilling rig in an oil field in Midland, Texas US August 22, 2018. Picture taken August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Nick Oxford/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Pump jacks operate in front of a drilling rig in an oil field in Midland, Texas US August 22, 2018. Picture taken August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Nick Oxford/File Photo

Oil prices were largely steady on Thursday, with traders holding fire after declines earlier this week on a stronger US dollar and worries about rising supply amid slow demand growth.
Brent crude futures were down 3 cents to $72.25 a barrel at 0937 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 7 cents to $68.36.
"The primary driver of oil prices, both in the near term and looking ahead, will be the direction of the US dollar," said Phillip Nova investment analyst Danish Lim.
The dollar's recent rally has been a key downside pressure, said Lim, who expects oil markets to stay volatile, with a bearish bias.
The dollar surged to a one-year high on Thursday, extending gains from Wednesday's seven-month high against major currencies after data showed US inflation in October increased in line with expectations.
This, in turn, stoked worries of slowing demand in the United States.
The market is "a concoction of weak demand factors", with the latest worry being a rally in US 10-year Treasury yields and a surge in the 10-year breakeven inflation rate to 2.35%, said OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong.
"(This) increases the odds of a shallow Fed interest rate cut cycle heading into 2025 (and) overall, there is less liquidity to stoke an increase in demand for oil," he added.
The US Energy Information Administration has slightly raised its global oil output forecast for 2024 to 102.6 million barrels per day (bpd), from a prior forecast of 102.5 million bpd, driven by an expected increase in US output of 300,000 bpd. For 2025, it expects world output of 104.7 million bpd.
The International Energy Agency's oil market report is due later in the day.
With slowing demand in China, there are few supply-demand factors supporting bullish oil markets, said independent market analyst Tina Teng.

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Chip Powerhouse Taiwan Calls for Economic Partnership Deal with EU

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te speaks at the annual Taiwan-EU investment forum in Taipei, Taiwan November 18, 2024. (Reuters)
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te speaks at the annual Taiwan-EU investment forum in Taipei, Taiwan November 18, 2024. (Reuters)
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Chip Powerhouse Taiwan Calls for Economic Partnership Deal with EU

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te speaks at the annual Taiwan-EU investment forum in Taipei, Taiwan November 18, 2024. (Reuters)
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te speaks at the annual Taiwan-EU investment forum in Taipei, Taiwan November 18, 2024. (Reuters)

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te called on Monday for the signing of an economic partnership agreement with the European Union, saying it would boost cooperation in semiconductors and that as democracies the two sides should be working together.

Taiwan has pushed for the signing of investment and trade deals with the EU, in what would be politically significant for Taiwan given its diplomatic isolation and general exclusion from most global bodies and agreements.

For its part, the EU has been courting Taiwan as a "like-minded" partner under the European Chips Act to encourage more semiconductor production in Europe and lessen dependence on Asia, despite the lack of formal ties with the Chinese-claimed island.

Speaking at a Taiwan-EU investment forum in Taipei, Lai said that facing the threat of expanding authoritarianism, Taiwan and the EU must form a "strong democratic umbrella" and build secure supply chains for global democracies.

"Looking to the future, Taiwan hopes to take an innovative approach towards the signing of an economic partnership agreement with the EU," he said.

Such an agreement would set a sound institutional basis for further cooperation in fields such as semiconductors and AI, Lai added.

"This would not only make both our economies more resilient and secure, but also ensure the stable operation of global supply chains."

Taiwanese investment in EU has been anchored by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), which in August launched a major new chip plant in Dresden, Germany, expected to be a key supplier to European industry and automakers.

Maria Martin-Prat, deputy head of the European Commission's directorate general for trade, made no mention of signing such a deal with Taiwan in a video message to the investment event, though she did praise bilateral relations.

"Taiwan, a vibrant democracy with an open economy, is a trusted partner for us to promote our economic security," she said.

Taiwan has few free trade agreements, though last year it signed an Enhanced Trade Partnership with Britain and has applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP.