Oil recovers from U.S. inflation-driven plunge | Reuters

Oil recovers from U.S. inflation-driven plunge | Reuters

Oil prices rose above $83 a barrel in volatile trading on Thursday, recovering from sharp falls triggered by concerns over increasing U.S. inflation as OPEC cut its 2021 oil demand forecast due to high energy prices.

Brent crude futures rose 63 cents, or 0.76%, to $83.27 a barrel by 1443 GMT after falling earlier to $81.66. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were up 63 cents, or 0.77%, at $81.97 after hitting a session low of $80.20.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said in a monthly report it expects oil demand to average 99.49 million barrels per day (bpd) in the fourth quarter of 2021, down 330,000 bpd from last month's forecast. read more

"A slowdown in the pace of recovery in the fourth quarter of 2021 is now assumed due to elevated energy prices," OPEC said in the report, also citing slower-than-expected demand in China and India for the downward revision.