Oil price decline continues
Despite data showing that stocks are decreasing, crude oil prices continued to fall due to concerns about a slowdown in the US economy. Oil prices have fallen for the third time in the last 4 days. After closing with a 2 percent decrease yesterday, the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil fell more than 1 percent today, falling below $83. The Fed's Beige Book report stated that the US economy has been stalling in recent weeks. This is causing the outlook for energy demand to worsen. The recent rise in the dollar is also negatively affecting commodities. Phillip Nova Pte. Analyst Priyanka Sachdeva said, “The Fed's latest report suggests there could be more interest rate hikes. Economic problems are inevitable. The only positive development here is the revival in the Chinese economy.” On the other hand, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced that commercial crude oil stocks in the country decreased by approximately 4 million 600 thousand barrels last week to 466 million barrels. Market expectations were that stocks would decrease by 2 million 464 thousand barrels.