(New York) Oil prices fell sharply on Thursday, as market fears about the expansion of the war between Israel and Hamas to neighboring countries eased and gave way to concerns about global growth.
A barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in December lost 2.44% to $87.93.
Its American equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery the same month, fell 2.55% to $83.21.
“Prices are under pressure from fears about global growth while oil continues to flow smoothly even as the conflict between Israel and Hamas rages,” commented Edward Moya of Oanda.
Israel announced Thursday that it had entered the Gaza Strip with tanks, to “prepare the battlefield” for a ground offensive mentioned many times, on the 20e day of his war against Hamas.
Since October 7, more than 7,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip according to the Hamas Ministry of Health, and more than 1,400 in Israel, mainly on the day of the Hamas attack, according to Israeli authorities.
Since the bloody attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement, the price of Brent has risen 5% and WTI only around 1.5%.
The outlook for demand for black gold “was not helped by the decision of the European Central Bank (ECB)” to leave rates unchanged “highlighting the weaknesses of the economy”.
The ECB in fact left its rates unchanged on Thursday, after 10 increases in a row, warning that inflationary risks, accentuated by the war in the Middle East, are still too high to consider the slightest reduction.
In addition, the marvelous growth in the third quarter for the United States (+4.9% at an annual rate), announced on Thursday, is unlikely to be repeated at the end of the year, according to most analysts. They expect a sharp slowdown in the expansion of the world’s largest economy, which could weigh on energy demand.