Early on Thursday, WTI crude oil prices have dipped slightly but continue to hold onto gains from the previous session following a greater than expected decline in US crude inventories indicating signs of improving oil demand. At the time of writing, WTI crude oil is trading at around $42.59 per barrel.

According to the EIA report which released on Wednesday, fuel demand in the US climbed to 19.37 million bpd during the previous week – the highest level seen since March. Meanwhile, crude output declined to 10.7 million bpd from 11 million bpd even as crude stockpiles fell by 4.5 million barrels during the previous week against economists’ expectations for a 2.9 million barrel decline.

As the coronavirus pandemic rages on,  EIA revised its 2020 forecasts for US crude production lower, from 600k bpd decline previous to a decline by 990k bpd. US oil production is expected to touch 11.26 million bpd in 2020, as per latest estimates by the EIA.

Meanwhile, OPEC also revised global oil demand forecasts for this year lower in its latest monthly report. According to OPEC’s latest estimates, world’s oil demand could fall by 9.06 million bpd in 2020, down from last month’s estimate for a decline by 8.95 million bpd instead.