Oil Prices Continue To Fall As Demand Concerns Persist

The New Diplomat
Writer
Oil Falls Below $90 As Markets Shuffle Back From Supply Jitters

Ad

OPEC Rejects Media Reports of Major Output Hike Ahead of G8 Meet

OPEC has slammed the brake on speculation, flatly rejecting media reports that the G8 is preparing to hike crude oil production by half a million barrels per day. In a statement from Vienna on Tuesday, the OPEC Secretariat called the claims “wholly inaccurate and misleading,” stressing that discussions among ministers for the upcoming meeting haven’t…

Ranked: Countries Losing the Most (and Least) from Trump’s Tariffs

Trump’s tariffs are hitting all of America’s major trading partners. But in U.S. trade, what matters isn’t just the tariffs a country faces—it’s how they stack up against competitors. This visualization, made with the Hinrich Foundation, shows which countries are losing the most, and the least, from Trump’s tariffs. The data seen here is sourced from…

Emergency in Rivers: Romancing impunity?, By Ebun Olu-Adegboruwa 

By Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN “I urge every Nigerian home and abroad to try and live within the confines of the law of the land and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. If we are able to do just that, we will be sure of ensuring that peace and unity reign in the country.…

Ad

  • Oil prices continued to trend lower in morning trade in Asia, with WTI heading toward $78 and Brent moving closer to $82.
  • Despite the EIA reporting a sizeable inventory draw of 4.6 million barrels for the week to April 14th, traders were focused on demand concerns.
  • The Fed has repeatedly indicated that is it not done with rate hikes, which traders see as countering any growing demand from China.

By Irina Slav

Demand worries outweighed supply concerns this week to push down oil prices, reinforced by heightened expectations of more U.S. rate hikes that lifted the greenback.

In morning trade in Asia oil was down for the third day out of the last four, despite the EIA reporting an inventory draw of 4.6 million barrels for the week to April 14, compared to a modest build in crude oil inventories for the previous week, at 600,000 barrels. For the week before that, however, the EIA had estimated a sizable draw of 3.7 million barrels.

Instead of reacting to the draw, oil traders apparently were more concerned with other news or rather non-news: the Fed has indicated repeatedly that it is not done with rate hikes. It seems there are expectations for at least one more rate hike, to be announced next month before the Fed pauses with the inflation-control measure.

“When the Fed’s commentary indicates further rate hikes, economic troubles look inevitable,” Priyanka Sachdeva, an analyst at brokerage Phillip Nova, told Bloomberg. “The only ray of hope here is China’s reemergence, which is expected to be significant enough to outweigh the dented demand from the West.”

“WTI crude is back below the $80 level and it could continue drifting lower if the strong dollar trade resumes,” OANDA’s Edward Moya told Reuters.

What’s more, the gloom and doom that oil traders appear to see for the U.S. economy has proven stronger than optimism about China, which earlier this week pushed prices higher for a while after it reported stronger-than-expected GDP growth data. Yet that wasn’t the full picture.

“Though China reported better-than-expected GDP data, both industrial production and fixed asset investments fell short of consensus data, which did not help (in) boosting oil prices,” CMC Markets analyst Tina Teng told Reuters. NB: Irina Slav wrote this artocle for Oilprice.com

Ad

Unlocking Opportunities in the Gulf of Guinea during UNGA80
X whatsapp