© Reuters. An oil pump operating in the US state of Texas in a photo from Reuters archive.
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – It fell on Friday after a Federal Reserve official said interest rate cuts should be delayed for at least two more months.
By 0212 GMT, crude futures fell 25 cents, equivalent to 0.3 percent, to 83.42 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures also fell 25 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $78.36.
Christopher Waller, a member of the US Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, said on Thursday that Fed policymakers should postpone interest rate cuts for at least another two months to see whether the recent rise in inflation means faltering progress towards price stability or is just a passing bump in the road. .
It should be noted that keeping interest rates at a higher level for a longer period leads to a slowdown in economic growth, which limits the demand for oil.
The US Central Bank has kept the interest rate at a range of 5.25-5.5 percent since last July, and the minutes of its policy meeting last month showed that most of its officials appear concerned about rushing to ease monetary policy.
Oil indices trimmed some of the gains they achieved yesterday, Thursday, after Waller’s comments.
Oil futures rose yesterday, Thursday, amid continuing hostilities in the Red Sea, with the Iran-aligned Houthis escalating their attacks near Yemen as part of their support for the Palestinians in the Gaza war.
The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to send negotiators to Paris to participate in talks aimed at reaching a truce in Gaza, according to an informed source and Israeli media.
(Prepared by Marwa Ghareeb for the Arabic Bulletin)
2024-02-23 04:18:00
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