Gasoline prices today (June 8): Mixed

Oil prices this morning moved in opposite directions, with Brent crude increasing to $76.95/barrel and WTI crude falling to $72.49/barrel.

World oil prices

Oil prices rose about 1% at the end of trading on June 7 as news that Saudi Arabia planned to cut production further offset demand difficulties stemming from US fuel stocks and weak Chinese export data.

Gasoline prices returned to mixed direction at the beginning of the session on June 8. Illustration photo: Reuters

Brent crude futures rose 66 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $76.95 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 79 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $72.53 a barrel.

Both oil benchmarks rose more than $1 in the first trading session of the week following Saudi Arabia’s decision late last week to cut production by 1 million barrels per day to 9 million barrels per day in July.

“Futures appear to be in a ‘tug of war’ between slowing production and lower diesel demand with expected production cuts from OPEC and Saudi Arabia,” said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial.

In another development, data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that US crude oil inventories fell by about 450,000 barrels, contrary to analysts' estimates of an increase of 1 million barrels. Diesel inventories also increased by 5.1 million barrels; gasoline inventories increased by 2.8 million barrels, according to EIA.

The unexpected rise in fuel inventories raised concerns about consumption in the world's top oil consumer, especially as travel demand surges over the Memorial Day weekend.

Oil prices fell earlier in the session on weak Chinese economic data.

China’s exports fell much faster than expected in May, while imports also fell, albeit at a slower pace, Reuters reported, as manufacturers struggled to find demand abroad and domestic consumption remained sluggish.

Specifically, according to data from the China Customs Administration, China's exports in May fell 7.5%, much higher than the forecast 0.4% decline and the largest decline since January. Similarly, the East Asian country's imports fell 4.5%, slower than the expected 8% decline and the 7.9% decline in April.

Data released on June 7 also showed that China's crude oil imports in May rose to their third-highest monthly level as refineries built up inventories.

The increase in gasoline prices on June 7 was partly affected by the decline in the USD. Illustration photo: Coin98.net

In a note, JP Morgan said crude futures coverage in China has increased, suggesting refiners are not increasing processing rates but instead storing oil.

Supporting oil prices is a decline in the US dollar as the chance of a US Federal Reserve interest rate hike next week fades.

Global economic growth will pick up only moderately next year as the full impact of central bank rate hikes is felt, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said, the latest sign of the impact of monetary tightening.