Crude Oil Climbs Well Off Worst Levels But Remains Sharply Lower

(RTTNews) - Crude oil prices regained ground after a mid-day sell-off but still ended Thursday's trading session firmly in negative territory.

After falling as low as $69.03 a barrel, crude for July delivery ended the day down $1.24 or 1.7 percent at $71.29 a barrel, more than offsetting the advance seen on Wednesday.

The price of crude oil fell sharply in mid-day trading after a report from Middle East Eye said Iran and the U.S. are nearing a temporary deal that would swap some sanctions relief for reducing Iranian uranium enrichment activities.

The White House later described the report as "false and misleading," however, leading to the recovery attempt by oil prices.

Nonetheless, concerns about the outlook for energy demand continued to weigh on the markets, keeping the price of crude oil stuck firmly in the red.

The concerns about demand have largely overshadowed Saudi Arabia's weekend announcement of plans to cut crude output by 1 million barrels per day in July

"It's been a very choppy week in oil markets, with traders forced to digest the latest compromise deal from OPEC+ against the backdrop of more interest rate hikes and dampening prospects for the global economy," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA.

He added, "Resilience in the economy now is impressive but the longer it lasts, the more it will be met with higher interest rates that could ultimately deliver a harder landing."