July 7 Reuters Oil prices regained a footing on Thursday from steep falls in the previous two sessions, as investors returned their focus to tight supplies even as fears persisted over the demand outlook amid risks of a global recession.
Brent crude futures rose 67 cents, or 0.7, to 101.36 a barrel by 0402 GMT after tumbling more than 2 to a session low of 98.50 earlier. WTI crude futures climbed 59 cents, or 0.6, to 99.12 a barrel, bouncing from an intraday low of 96.57.
Recession fears continue to grow and that obviously does raise some concerns for the demand outlook, Warren Patterson, ING39;s head of commodity research said.
However, supportive fundamentals should mean that further downside is relatively limited.
He added that it39;s hard to be overly bearish on oil prices as the Brent monthly spreads remain in wide backwardation, indicating tight supplies. Promptmonth prices are higher than those in future months in a backwardated market.
Also, recent Iranian nuclear talks dont appear to have achieved much, Patterson said.
Washington tightened sanctions on Iran on Wednesday, pressuring Tehran as it seeks to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Eurasia Group, a consultancy, reduced the odds of an agreement between the United States and Iran this year to 35 from 40, saying Tehran is likely ambivalent about a deal.
Oil prices have slid alongside other commodities such as metals and palm oil as central banks across the world raised interest rates over the past…