Mubasher: Oil prices inched up on Tuesday after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) confirmed that Saudi Arabia trimmed production to evade potential oversupply.

Earlier in the day, US Nymex futures rose 0.4% to $67.45 per barrel (pb) from their last close, as global benchmark Brent crude futures traded at $72.81 pb, 0.3% higher than their last session.

Saudi Arabia informed OPEC in July that it had reduced its crude production by 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 10.288 million bpd.

Relying on secondary source figures, the bloc’s report issued on Monday confirmed the Saudi reduced output, triggering thereby a bullish sentiment in the market on early Tuesday.

However, the crude’s upward move came despite concerns of a slowdown in global crude demand, which was set to grow by 1.43 million bpd in the next year, declining from 1.64 million bpd for this year, according to OPEC.

The group cited lower momentum in global economic growth on the back of escalating trade conflicts between the US and China, as well as troubled emerging markets.

The Chinese economy is already showing signs of a slowdown, as Washington is gearing up for slapping Chinese imports with even tougher duties, while investment in the first seven months of the year hit a record low, along with softening retail sales.

“Data from China failed to meet market expectations, which could be another signal that the world economy is slowing down,” energy consultancy Trifecta’s managing director Sukrit Vijayakar told Reuters.

By 7:02 am GMT, Nymex futures climbed 0.64% to $67.63 pb, while Brent crude futures rose 0.26% to $72.99 pb.