Oil prices have fallen slightly on Thursday morning, but remain above the level at the close of trading on Wednesday afternoon.

On the one hand, fears of a subdued demand recovery in China, the world’s largest oil importer, are putting downward pressure on prices.

On the other hand, the risk of a tighter supply following earlier announcements of further production cuts from Saudi Arabia and Russia has an impact as well, according to Reuters.

A barrel of the European reference oil, Brent, costs USD 76.38 on Thursday morning, compared to USD 76.17 on Wednesday afternoon. Earlier in the morning, however, the price had reached USD 76.82.

At the same time, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil is trading at USD 71.68 compared to USD 72.06 earlier Thursday morning – and USD 71.35 on Wednesday afternoon.

”Despite calls for supply cuts over recent months, oil prices have remained largely locked within a ranging pattern as persistent uncertainty over the demand outlook continues to put a cap on the upside,” says market strategist Yeap Jun Rong of IG according to Reuters.

The concerns on the demand side relate to China’s sluggish recovery after corona restrictions were lifted and headwinds for the global economy in general, with central banks trying to push inflation down with interest rate hikes.