Oil dives 3.5% on global economy worries
HOUSTON: On Tuesday, oil prices fell 3.5% in choppy trading, under pressure from disappointing Chinese demand statistics, a bleak economic outlook, and a stronger US currency.
Oil dives 3.5% on global economic worries. By 16:45 GMT, the March Brent futures contract had dropped $3.03 to $82.88 per barrel. To reach $77.45 a barrel, US crude dropped $2.81. Both contracts had increased by more than $1 per barrel in early trading.
“There is plenty of reason for concerns here – the China Covid-19 situation and the fear of recession in the foreseeable future is putting pressure on markets,” Mizuho analyst Robert Yawger said.
The first batch of refined oil product export quotas for 2023 has been increased by the Chinese government. The spike was ascribed by traders to anticipations of weak domestic demand as the world’s largest crude importer fights Covid-19 infection epidemics.
China’s factory activity decreased in December as a result of escalating illnesses that disrupted production and raised concerns about demand.
