Oil Market: Demand Will Remain High in January.

Oil prices have remained almost unchanged due to expected winter fuel demand; however, a large amount of fuel is accumulating in the U.S. and there are macroeconomic problems.

According to Reuters, futures for Brent oil fell by 3 cents to $76.13 per barrel. Futures for West Texas Intermediate crude oil declined by 10 cents to $73.22.

Both benchmarks fell more than 1% on Wednesday due to a stronger dollar and unexpectedly large increases in U.S. fuel inventories, which are putting pressure on prices.

JPMorgan analysts predict that demand for oil in January will increase by 1.4 million barrels per day compared to last year, reaching 101.4 million barrels per day, mainly due to increased use of heating fuel in the North.

'Global oil demand is expected to remain high in January due to the cold winter, leading to increased fuel consumption for heating, as well as the start of tourist activity in China for the Lunar New Year celebrations,' analysts note.

Official data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows that gasoline and distillate stocks in the U.S. increased last week.

At the same time, trade sources report that crude oil supplies from Saudi Arabia to China will decrease in February following an increase in official oil prices in Asia.