The price of Texas intermediate oil (WTI) It opened this Monday with a slight drop of 0.07%, to $76.44 a barrel, as expectations of short-term interest rate cuts fade among investors.
At 9:10 local time (14:10 GMT), WTI futures contracts for delivery in April fell $0.05 compared to the close of the previous session.
The benchmark crude oil falls again this morning amid uncertainty about the path of interest rates, since in the minutes of the last meeting of the Reserva Federal (Fed)the central bank reiterated that it does not plan to lower rates until it is sure that inflation is close to the 2% target.
«With inflation stubbornly above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target and the US economy showing resilience that few had anticipated, markets began trading in a scenario in which interest rates remain high for longer”he told MarketWatch Ricardo Evangelistasenior analyst at ActivTrades.
Many investors entered 2024 hoping that the first rate cuts would come as soon as March, but with the latest comments from the Fed markets now see a slightly better than 50% chance that cuts will begin in June, according to the CME Group’s Fedwatch tool.
On the other hand, analysts continue to monitor the tension in middle Eastwhere this weekend USA and the United Kingdom They bombed several Houthi rebel positions in Yemenin what represents the fourth joint operation of the two nations against that group, according to a joint statement.
Despite the tension, especially in Israel and Palestine, crude oil supplies have so far been largely unaffected, as the potential effects of the conflict have been offset by bearish demand prospects in both China and the United States. West, as Evangelista explained to MarketWatch. EFE (I)
#WTI #oil #opens #slight #drop #USD
