Crude oil futures prices continued their decline on Wednesday (15th).WTI Crude Oil It fell below $70 a barrel for the first time since December 2021, as the impact of the banking crisis stoked public fears of a recession.
energy commodity prices
- West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) futures for April delivery fell $3.72, or 5.2%, to settle at $67.61 a barrel, the first time front-month WTI futures settled below $70 since Dec. 20, 2021.
- Brent futures for May delivery fell $3.76, or 4.9%, to settle at $73.69 a barrel.
- Gasoline futures for April delivery fell 4.5% to settle at $2.4384 a gallon.
- delivered in AprilHot Fuel FuturesPrices fell 4 percent to $2.604 a gallon.
- Natural gas futures for April delivery fell 5.2% to settle at $2.439 per million Btu.
market drivers
The turmoil in the banking sector has added to public concern, as the aggressive tightening of monetary policy by the Federal Reserve (Fed) and other central banks has set the stage for a sharp economic downturn.
Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse (CS-US) shares fell to record lows on Wednesday.
U.S. stocks rebounded modestly on Monday, but crude oil failed to keep pace with the gains and instead extended losses on Tuesday when U.S. stocks fell once more on renewed concerns regarding banks.TuesdayDowdown 280.83 points or 0.87%;S&P 500 The index fell 27.36 points or 0.7%.
Stephen Innes, managing director of SPI Asset Management, said the big macro economy is destroying oil as energy traders directly associate previous banking-driven recessions, notably the 2008 financial crisis, with similar implications to the current financial turmoil, And then oil was hit hard.
Innes said that following China lifted its strict new crown epidemic prevention policy, it has not seen a “slingshot recovery” of its economy, and the market’s concerns regarding Credit Suisse have intensified, which may end the oil market rebound in the first quarter.
U.S. crude inventories rose by 1.6 million barrels last week to 480.1 million barrels, regarding 7% above the five-year average for this time of year, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday. Separately, gasoline inventories fell by 2.1 million barrels, while distillate inventories fell by 2.5 million barrels.
According to the “Wall Street Journal” survey, analysts on average expected crude oil inventories fell by 100,000 barrels, while gasoline inventories fell by 1.2 million barrels and distillate inventories fell by 600,000 barrels.
The American Petroleum Institute (API), an industry trade group, reported late Tuesday that U.S. crude inventories rose by 1.2 million barrels last week, while gasoline inventories fell by 4.6 million barrels and distillate inventories fell by 2.9 million barrels.
