(New York) Oil prices ended the week lower on Friday as fears of a global slowdown fueled expectations of weaker demand.
Posted at 4:55 p.m.
A barrel of Brent from the North Sea for December delivery fell 3.10% to 91.63 dollars. Over the week, it lost 6.20%.
A barrel of US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for November delivery plunged 3.92% to $85.61. It lost 7.34% over the week.
“The market continues to be haunted by fears of recession which could impact demand for black gold,” said Andy Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates.
“High energy, natural gas and electricity prices around the world are starting to reduce consumers’ disposable income and because of this, the global economy will slow down,” he explained.
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), International Energy Agency (IEA) and US Energy Information Agency (EIA): the three monthly reports on the black gold market published this week granted to say that demand will be less robust than expected in 2022 and 2023.
“The main downside factor is China,” summarizes Stephen Brennock, analyst at PVM.
The world’s largest importer of crude, reeling from a crisis in its real estate sector and repeated lockdowns linked to its zero COVID-19 strategy, should gobble up less oil than expected.
As a result, prices struggled over the week to continue their surge that began after last week’s meeting of OPEC+ (OPEC and its ten allies, including Russia), which voluntarily limited its extraction targets.
Also, the rise of the dollar against other currencies, driven by the prospect of rate hikes by the Federal Reserve (Fed) to control inflation, “puts pressure on crude oil prices”, added Andy Lipow.