Oil prices extended their slide on Wednesday on investor worries that the global economy would slow further with renewed restrictions to curb Covid-19 in China.
Brent crude futures for October, due to expire on Wednesday, were down $2.51 at $96.80 a barrel following Tuesday’s $5.78 loss. The more active November contract was down 62 cents to $97.22 a barrel.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 44 cents, or 0.5%, to $91.20 a barrel by 12:36 pm EST (1736 GMT), after sliding $5.37 in the previous session on recession fears. Both contracts fell by more than 3% in earlier trade.
“The weakness coming out of China has played a significant role” in lowering prices, said Harry Altham, energy analyst for EMEA and Asia at StoneX Group in London. “There are fears of demand destruction across the West as interest rates rise and inflation concerns grip Western economies.”
The Joint Technical Committee of OPEC and allies, together called OPEC+, said it now sees an oil surplus this year of 900,000 barrels per day (bpd), up 100,000 bpd from its forecast a month earlier.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 1st, 2022.
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