Oil prices were little changed on Tuesday after gains in the previous session, on concerns that interest rate hikes to control inflation in the United States could hurt economic growth and fuel the world’s biggest crude consumer. Demand will decrease.
Brent crude futures for November settlement were down 7 cents, or 0.1%, at $91.93 a barrel by 0136 GMT.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was down 14 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $85.59 a barrel. The October contract expires on Tuesday and the more active November contract was down 16 cents, or 0.2%, at $85.20.
The dollar rose against major currencies on Monday ahead of several central bank meetings this week led by the U.S. Federal Reserve, which is expected to raise interest rates by another 75 basis points to tackle inflation. .
A stronger greenback makes dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.
“Crude prices were under pressure as fears of aggressive central bank tightening raised concerns for an increasingly weak global economy,” Edward Moya, a senior market analyst at OANDA, said in a note.
“The global economy is slowing down and that is troubling for the outlook for crude demand.”
U.S. crude stockpiles are estimated to have risen by nearly 2 million barrels in the week to Sept. 16, showed on Monday.
The US Energy Department will sell 10 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for delivery in November, extending the timing of a plan to sell 180 million barrels from the stockpile to control fuel prices.
The impasse over the renegotiation of the Iran nuclear deal is preventing the country’s exports from fully returning to the market, providing some support to prices.
Russia said on Monday that outstanding issues remained in the talks, while France’s foreign minister said it was up to Tehran to decide as the window to find a solution was closing.
Still, signs that major producers are unable to meet their output quotas failed to lift prices much higher on Monday.
An internal document from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the Russia-led coalition, known as OPEC+, showed the group fell short of its oil production target by 3.583 million barrels per day (bpd) in August. Stayed. In July, OPEC+ missed its target by 2.892 million bpd.
ANZ research analysts pointed to the lifting of city-wide lockdowns in China’s Chengdu and Dalian on Monday as a possible spark for a strong recovery in oil demand growth in the world’s second-largest oil consumer. .
