Oil falls as China's lockdowns continue to dampen demand hopes

Oil prices edged lower on Wednesday as market players focused on the economic downturn from lockdowns in China, the world's largest oil-consuming country.

International benchmark Brent crude traded at $95.34 per barrel at 09.58 a.m. local time (0658 GMT), a 0.02% decrease from the closing price of $95.36 a barrel in the previous trading session.

The American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $88.87 per barrel at the same time, a 0.04% loss after the previous session closed at $88.91 a barrel.

Price declines in China have been primarily driven by concerns about demand as the country continues to impose lockdowns and other measures in accordance with its "zero-covid" policy.

In contrast to the market consensus of a 1.1-million-barrel increase, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported its estimate of a surge of over 5.6 million barrels in US crude oil stocks late Tuesday.

A more-than-expected stockpile increase signals a drop in crude demand, weighing prices down.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will release official oil stock data later Wednesday, and if a build in stock levels is confirmed, prices will fall.

However, investor concerns about a lack of supply limited further losses as EU countries prepare sanctions on Russian oil exports, which are set to take effect on Dec. 5 in response to Russia's attack on Ukraine.

Jose Galeano is on the verge of embarking on the most important and frightening journey of his life. He took out a loan secured against his house and paid people smugglers to help him begin an odyssey he hopes will end in the United States.

Having worked as a farmhand, a gardener, and a laborer, this 35year-old former veterinary medicine graduate is joining the thousands of Nicaraguans fleeing the second poorest country in Latin America.

There is "little work, pay is low, there are no opportunities," lamented Galeano the day he left home.

Nicaraguan emigration has exploded over the last year due to the crippling cost of living, lack of work, and suppression of dissent.

Galeano plans to walk to the US with a brother and two cousins.

"We hope to get there and work," he told AFP from his humble home in Managua, where he left behind a daughter, his mother, and his grandmother.

"We took a loan, secured against the land, the house, and with that, we are going ... I've never been on such a long journey and I'm scared."

Many migrants have lost their homes after being unable to pay back similar loans.

Galeano's dream is to return home with enough money to open a bakery in Managua.

Tears flowed as his friends and family gathered in a somber atmosphere at his home to see him off.

According to local media, quoting victims' families, at least 40 Nicaraguan migrants died of asphyxiation, drowning, and traffic accidents in 2022.

Hundreds of people, including children, congregate at various points in Managua with nothing but a backpack, waiting to take buses offering tourism "excursions" to Guatemala.

It is the first stage of a journey that will see them forking out between $2,000 and $5,000 to a "coyote," or people smuggler, to

take them from Guatemala to the US. At one point, they will have to cross the Bravo river, swimming or on a raft.