Crude oil futures prices fell sharply on Tuesday (14th), setting the lowest closing price this year, because the United States announced another round of fiery inflation data, which made traders unable to shake off economic recession concerns. Continually worrying.
energy commodity prices
- West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures for April delivery fell $3.47, or 4.6%, to settle at $71.33 a barrel.
- Brent futures for May delivery fell $3.32, or 4.1%, to settle at $77.45 a barrel.
according toDow Jonesmarket data,WTI Crude Oiland Brent Crude OilThe closing price of front-month futures fell to the lowest level since December 9 last year.
- Gasoline futures for April delivery fell 1.5% to settle at $2.553 a gallon.
- delivered in AprilHot Fuel FuturesPrices fell 1.5 percent to $2.553 a gallon.
- Natural gas futures for April delivery fell 1.3% to settle at $2.573 per million Btu.
market drivers
Stocks and banks rallied as investors’ worries regarding the banking system appeared to fade, but crude oil failed to join the rally, falling for a second day in a row, analysts said, as fears of a deep recession persisted market.
Sevens Report Research wrote in a Tuesday analysis report: “Looking ahead, the supply side remains fairly stable once morest the current fundamental backdrop, however, optimism regarding China’s economic recovery has faded, while recession fears remain high, resulting in risks to the downside. “
US February consumer price index (CPI) showed that inflation continued to slow down, but remained at a high level. CPI rose 0.4% in February, in line with forecasts of economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal, while the annual rate of growth slowed to 6% from 6.4%.
Core CPI (excluding volatile food and energy prices) rose more than expected at 0.5% m/m, but the annual rate was broadly in line with expectations, slowing to 5.5% from 5.6%.
Strong economic data was seen as likely to push the Federal Reserve to keep raising interest rates, adding to worries among investors already worried regarding a recession following the collapse of a Silicon Valley bank.
Price Futures Group analyst Phil Flynn said in a report that the oil market is behaving as if a recession is inevitable, or at least will see a severe deleveraging in oil futures. With more reports pointing to stronger Chinese demand, and the dollar retreating, the market would think that oil would be able to weather all this economic turmoil.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) released its monthly report, maintaining its global oil demand growth forecast of 2.3 million barrels per day in 2023 unchanged, with daily oil demand reaching 101.9 million barrels.
Expectations for growth in Chinese demand were offset by lower forecasts for demand in the United States and Europe, OPEC said.
