Oil prices fall as expectations of US interest rate hike overshadow strong Chinese economic data

Oil prices fell during trading on Wednesday, amid expectations of raising US interest rates that could slow growth and reduce oil consumption, which overshadowed the impact of strong Chinese economic data, but a decline in US inventories more than expected reduced losses.
By 15:49 GMT, Brent crude futures fell 1.2 percent to $83.67 a barrel, after falling to $82.40 during the session, and US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.5 percent to $79.52 a barrel, after falling to 78.46. dollar.
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Rafael Bostick said on Tuesday that the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) will likely raise interest rates further to fight inflation.
Markets expect by 86 percent that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by 25 basis points at the monetary policy meeting scheduled for May.
“The data released yesterday indicates that the acceleration of the Chinese economy did not provide a springboard for higher energy prices,” said Stephen Brennock, an oil analyst at PVM Oil, according to Reuters.
Data showed that China’s economy, the largest importer of crude oil, grew more than expected at 4.5 percent in the first quarter, in addition to the country’s oil refinery production rising to record levels in March.
Prices received relative support after the release of the US Energy Information Administration report, which stated that US crude stocks fell by about 4.6 million barrels during the past week, more than analysts’ expectations, to reach 466 million barrels.
Pressure on both benchmarks increased as Asian refineries continued to buy Russian crude in April. India and China have bought the vast majority of Russian oil so far in April at prices above the maximum set by the West at $60 a barrel, according to traders and Reuters calculations.
Meanwhile, Reuters quoted informed sources in the trade and shipping sectors as saying that oil shipments from the main ports in western Russia will rise in April to their highest levels since 2019, exceeding 2.4 million barrels per day, despite Moscow’s pledge to reduce production.
The export and transportation of Russian crude oil from the ports of Primorsk, Ust Luga and Novorossiysk in April will rise to more than 10 million tons, up from 9.7 million tons in March.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on February 10 that Russia would cut production by 500,000 barrels per day in March, then pledged in early April to expand production cuts until the end of the year.