Concern is also growing on the oil market

(Boursier.com) – Like the equity markets, oil prices are losing ground again on Friday. A barrel of American light crude for August delivery fell 1.7% to $68.3 on the Nymex, while a barrel of Brent from the North Sea for the same maturity fell 1.6% to $73 in London and increased its price. weekly decline at nearly 5%. The aggressive stance of the major central banks is causing operators to worry about the strength of the global economy and ultimately the demand for fuel.

Very cautious, US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said this week that two more rate hikes of 25 basis points each by the end of the year were “a pretty good guess” as the market had been hoping so far for an early end to the Fed’s monetary tightening cycle. “We are locked in a range, but prices are being held back by worries about the economy, the economy in general,” Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group, told Reuters.

Despite the announcement of a decline in crude reserves in the United States last week, investors remain on the defensive. “Given the decline in crude oil and the very modest increases in refined product inventories, I would have thought we would have a better market response, but the crude and refined product market is simply weighed down by high rates of higher interest,” said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston. Additionally, while U.S. summer fuel demand is higher than a year ago, it remains nearly 5% below pre-pandemic 2019 levels.

“Concerns about declining demand for economic and structural reasons in developed countries and the possibility that China’s demand recovery will prove disappointing are weighing on the price,” Commerzbank analysts said. A jump in crude exports from Iran has only reinforced the heavy atmosphere of the moment on the black gold market, despite the latest decisions from Saudi Arabia.