New York West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures closed more than 5% lower on Wednesday (January 4) as investors continued to worry about a slowdown in the global economy and a surge in peaks of sale.
- The WTI Crude Oil contract is delivered in February. It fell $4.09, or 5.3%, to settle at $72.84 a barrel.
- The contract for Brent crude oil (BRENT) is delivered in March. It plunged $4.26, or 5.2%, to $77.84 a barrel.
Bob Jawker, an analyst at Mizuho in New York, said: Oil prices have plunged on concerns over the COVID-19 situation in China and the Federal Reserve’s move to raise interest rates. which is one of the factors causing the global economic downturn
The World Health Organization (WHO) is still evaluating COVID-19 infections. the latest wave in China He urged Chinese health officials to regularly provide specific real-time information on the COVID-19 situation in the country. This includes sharing more information about the genetic sequence. Information on hospital admissions, deaths and vaccinations.
Countries including the US, UK, India, Italy and Japan have issued requirements requiring Chinese passengers to show PCR results for COVID-19 after China announced it was reopening both arrivals and departures. This has raised concerns that COVID-19 will spread widely as the epidemic situation in China continues to deteriorate.
Oil prices have also been put under pressure by the news that China has announced an increase in export quotas for petroleum products this year. which the market sees as an indication of weak domestic demand. It also came under pressure on reports that US manufacturing contracted for the second straight month.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its manufacturing index fell to 48.4 in December, down from 49.0 in November. The index is below 50, indicating that the US manufacturing sector is in contraction. It was the second consecutive month of contraction as higher interest rates had curbed market demand.
Investors are keeping tabs on the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) crude inventories release today, with analysts expecting U.S. crude stockpiles to rise by 2.2 million barrels last week.
By InfoQuest News Agency (05 Jan. ’23)
Tags: lifestyle, WTI extension, the oil, oil price
