Pro IQRA News Updates.
Oil prices fell on Thursday amid global demand uncertainty and inflation concerns.
International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $84.13 a barrel at 09:48 local time (0648 GMT), down 0.21% from the previous trading session’s close of $84.31 a barrel.
Meanwhile, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $77.48 a barrel, down 0.27% after the previous session closed at $77.69 a barrel.
Given the uncertainty surrounding central banks continuing to introduce interest rate hikes, concerns about the global recession remain while inflation concerns are resurgent.
With expectations that the European Central Bank will continue to raise interest rates in 2024, the prospect of the US Federal Reserve raising rates again in July gained traction.
US commercial crude inventories rose by 1.2 million barrels to 480.2 million barrels in the week ending in February. 24, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) late Wednesday.
This inventory increase exceeded market expectations for a 440,000 barrel increase and marked the 10th week of inventory gains, indicating a slowdown in demand and pushing prices lower.
Russia lowers production in retaliation against the EU’s price ceiling
The EU ban on Russian seaborne oil products, as well as a $100 per barrel price cap on Russian premium oil products such as diesel, and a $45 per barrel price cap on discounted products such as heating oil, came into effect in February. 5.
Almost a month after the ban, Russia will now begin adopting plans to cut crude oil production by 500,000 barrels per day.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak also said earlier in February that his country plans to sell 80% of its crude oil and condensate and 75% of its refined products to “friendly” countries.
Meanwhile, the likelihood of an increase in demand for oil from China, the world’s largest oil importer, whose economy is recovering from strict covid-19 restrictions, is limiting price declines.
This week, China released positive statistics indicating an economic recovery. China’s National Bureau of Statistics revealed that Chinese industrial activity increased significantly in February.
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