Oil prices fell yesterday, as concerns about rising interest rates, the global economy and expectations for fuel demand overshadowed supplies due to the “OPEC +” supply cuts.
Brent crude fell 48 cents to $81.18 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude fell 48 cents to $77.39 a barrel. The two benchmarks fell more than 5 percent last week, marking their first weekly decline in 5 weeks, reports Al-Rai daily.
CMC Markets analyst Tina Ting said that the weak US economic data and disappointing corporate earnings from the technology sector raised concerns about growth and caused investors to refrain from risk, adding that the stability of the dollar and the rise in bond yields are also putting pressure on commodity markets.
Central banks from the United States to Britain and Europe are expected to raise rates at their meetings in the first week of May, in an effort to rein in inflation.