The price of oil in the international market falls.
Oil prices fell to $99 as traders fear high inflation will prompt the US central bank to raise interest rates sharply, which could dampen the economy and energy demand.
In the London market, the price of a barrel after noon was 33 cents lower than at the time of yesterday’s closing and reached 99.16 dollars. Yesterday it closed the trade at minus 7.61 dollars.
On the US market, a barrel was traded today at an almost unchanged price of $95.72. Yesterday, it closed the trade with a loss of $8.25. Prices closed below $100 in London yesterday, for the first time in three months, due to a strong dollar, strict measures to combat COVID-19 in the world’s top importer, China, and fears of a global economic slowdown. .
Despite the tight supply of the physical market, investors sold oil in futures contracts, fearing that an aggressive increase in interest rates could slow economic growth and thus demand for oil.
Today, attention focused on the fact that US inflation exceeded nine percent for the month of June, reaching the highest level in more than 40 years, which is speculated to prompt the Fed to raise interest rates by three percent. quarters of a percentage point. until the end of the month.
With supplies still tight, the market will be closely watching US President Joe Biden’s visit to the Middle East. Biden is expected to ask Saudi Arabia and other producers in the Persian Gulf to increase production.
The focus today will also be on the government’s report on US inventories last week. Analysts expect it to show a decline in crude oil and gasoline inventories. But according to data from the American Petroleum Institute (API), cited by sources on Tuesday, crude oil inventories rose by about 4.8 million barrels, increasing pressure on prices.
Due to the holidays in the Muslim world, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has not announced the price of a barrel of its members’ oil basket even today. Last Tuesday, it was $114.3.