Crude prices are recording declines for the second consecutive session in the middle of the trading session today, Thursday, July 15 (July), with the rise in concerns about global demand for oil and the rise in speculation about the future of the OPEC + deal.

International news had reported yesterday evening that Saudi Arabia and the UAE had reached a settlement in which the UAE succeeded in increasing its production from 3 million barrels to 3.65 million barrels per day in exchange for its agreement to extend the agreement until the end of this December, before the UAE Ministry of Energy confirmed that no agreement had been reached. And discussions are still going on.

In a related context, the data of the US Energy Information Administration issued yesterday, Wednesday, showed a decline in crude stocks in the United States of America for the eighth consecutive week, by 7.9 million barrels in the week ending on the ninth of last July, compared to the expectations of the markets, which were down by about 4.4 million barrels. Gasoline stocks rose by one million barrels compared to estimates when they fell by 1.8 million barrels. In contrast, distillate stocks, which include heating and diesel fuels, rose by 3.7 million barrels, compared to estimates of an increase of 877 thousand barrels.

And crude production in the United States of America rose to 11.4 million barrels per day last week, its highest level since May 2020.

Brent crude is trading at 74.22 dollars per barrel, down by 0.72%, while US crude (NYMEX) is down by 0.96% and trading at 72.43 dollars per barrel.