ISLAMABAD: Brent crude oil price in the international market fell below $100 a barrel on Wednesday morning. A couple of months ago, the crude oil prices touched $126/barrel level, the highest-ever, but later on prices started falling gradually due to various reasons.
It is the latest oil prices data, obtained from the Oil.com at 12 Noon PST.
On Wednesday, the average price of OPEC crude oil stood at $114/barrel, down from $125 record high in May/June 2022. Resurgence of Covid-19 pandemic and global economic slowdown in the wake of very high prices of essential commodities have affected crude oil demand and prices.
WTI crude oil fell to $96.25 a barrel while Louisiana light declined to $107 per barrel on Wednesday. Prices of natural gas have also dropped below $7 to 6.32 dollars on Wednesday morning.
Traders are selling oil again as concern about the course of the global economy deepens, taking the upper hand over supply fears. Brent crude has lost more than $20 per barrel over the past month while the West Texas Intermediate has lost nearly $25 per barrel. Recession fears appear to be the biggest driver of the price decline, with demand still robust despite prices.
Hedge funds are selling their oil and they sold the equivalent of 110 million barrels of crude oil and fuels across the six most traded contracts.
This has brought the total volume sold across these contracts to a little over 200 million barrels over the past four weeks, Kemp noted. The acceleration in selling over the week to July 5 becomes even more notable in the context of the four-week total.
Forecasts of a recession, specifically in the United States, are multiplying.
