Oil prices fell sharply on Monday, picking up on last week’s losses. At the start of the week, concerns regarding further developments in China put pressure on prices, market observers said.
In the morning, a barrel (159 liters) of the North Sea Brent cost 81.41 US dollars (78.47 euros). That was $2.22 less than Friday. The price of a barrel of American West Texas Intermediate (WTI) grade fell by $2.03 to $74.25.
Risk appetite dampened
The biggest wave of protests in China for decades dampened investors’ willingness to take risks in the financial markets in the morning, which also dragged down oil prices. The weekend demonstrations lasted until Monday night in many cities in the world’s second largest economy. The people’s displeasure is directed once morest the strict measures of the Chinese zero-Covid policy such as repeated lockdowns, mass tests and forced quarantine.
Concerns regarding a slowdown in the global economy with lower demand for crude oil had previously weighed heavily on oil market prices. Since the middle of the month, the price of crude oil from the North Sea has fallen by almost $15. During this time, the price of US oil also fell regarding $15, with the price of US crude oil slipping below $74 a barrel at times in the morning and thus to the lowest level since the beginning of the year.