Crude oil prices declined in midday trading during the European session on Thursday, February 12, after the International Energy Agency (IEA) released a report today showing a downward revision in global demand forecasts. This comes as the US-Iran talks continue to be assessed. US crude (WTI) fell by approximately 0.28%, trading at $64.45 per barrel, while Brent crude traded at $69.11 per barrel, down about 0.43%.

In its monthly report released today, the IEA lowered its forecast for global oil demand growth this year to 850,000 barrels per day, compared to its previous estimate of 930,000 barrels per day. The report also indicated that global oil supply fell by 1.2 million barrels per day in January to 106.6 million barrels per day, due to weather impacts on US production and reduced output from Kazakhstan, Russia, and Venezuela. The agency expects production to increase by 2.8 million barrels per day this year.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s report released Wednesday showed an 8.5 million barrel increase in crude oil inventories for the week ending February 6. Specifically, gasoline stocks rose by about 1.2 million barrels, while distillate fuel stocks, which include heating oil and diesel, fell by 2.7 million barrels.

Crude oil prices declined, and the Energy Information Administration lowered its forecast for global demand growth.