Oil prices edge up as US supplies fall

West Texas intermediate for September delivery fell $1.07 cents, or 2.5%, to settle at $42.23 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The US contract on Tuesday closed at the lowest level since March 2009.

Benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil rose 60 cents at $50.26 a barrel, while the US crude was up 20 cents and traded at $43.50 per barrel, Reuters reported. The report said that although crude demand from China is slowing down but there has been acceleration in demand from other regions.

Prices had moved off six-year lows on Wednesday on news that US crude supplies fell-a sign of stronger demand in the world’s top oil consumer-and the dollar declined.

Still the IEA gave a mixed read on the overall state of the market.

Crude oil prices are low because of a surplus of supplies in a weak global economy.

The IEA said during its monthly report that it was sharply raising its outlook for growth in demand for 2015 and 2015, and it was expecting supply growth from non-OPEC suppliers to decline in the coming year, with producers in the U.S. hit the hardest. He has managed and overseen start ups in Mining, Shipping, Technology and Financial Services.

Iran exported about 1.4 million barrels a day in 2014, about half the amount it was shipping before western sanctions took effect in 2011.

“We believe the government will continue to ease policy to stabilize sluggish aggregate demand growth”, Morgan Stanley said, adding that it expected another interest rate cut towards the end of the third quarter this year. The anticipated oil price was $67 per barrel prior to the conclusion of the Iran nuclear agreement.

At the same time, the U.S. Energy Information Administration issued a prediction for lower oil prices for the year.

U.S. crude futures were under greater pressure as problems with a major refinery in the U.S. Midwest cast doubt on the country’s ability to process its own oil.

“The strength in refined products is pulling crude prices higher”, said David Thompson, executive vice-president at Powerhouse, an energy-specialized commodities broker in Washington.