Oil prices fell about 3 percent today, Friday, as the market assessed the impact of the central bank’s rate hike, but crude oil is still on track for a weekly gain on fears of disruption to supplies and hopes for a recovery in demand in China. .
The Federal Reserve (US central bank) has signaled that it will continue to raise interest rates next year even as the economy slides into a potential recession. The Bank of England and the European Central Bank raised interest rates to fight inflation.
And by 13:34 GMT, Brent futures fell $2.08, or 2.6 percent, to $79.13 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate futures fell $2.07, or 2.6 percent. .7 percent to $74.04 per barrel.
The two benchmarks fell 2 percent in the previous session as the dollar rose and European central banks raised interest rates.
But the two are still on track for weekly gains as sentiment is buoyed by potentially tight supply after Canada’s TC Energy shut down its Keystone pipeline due to a leak and the expectation of stronger demand in 2023.
The International Energy Agency expects China’s demand to rise by about one million barrels per day next year after falling in 2022. The agency raised its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2023 to 1.7 million barrels per day.
