Oil stabilizes, gas at two-month low

Around 2:45 p.m., Brent posted a gain of 0.26% to 92.24 dollars and WTI grabbed 0.05% to 85.77 dollars.

Oil prices stabilized on Tuesday, following approaching their lowest level in eight months the day before, caught between fears of recession and uncertainty surrounding the supply of black gold, while gas fell to a lowest in two months.

Around 12:45 GMT (2:45 p.m. CET), a barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in November took 0.26%, to 92.24 dollars.

The barrel of American West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in October, which is the last day of trading, gleaned 0.05%, to 85.77 dollars.

“Oil prices have stabilized (…) as investors assess the darkening global outlook, with interest rates expected to rise further this week, which should limit aggregate demand,” said Susannah Streeter, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Fed, the central bank of the United States is due to announce its monetary policy decision on Wednesday.

“Its primary objective is to contain inflation, even if this has to be done at the cost of short-term economic pain,” explains Tamas Varga of PVM Energy.

The markets are expecting another sharp rise in interest rates, which might then weigh on demand.

For Susannah Streeter, however, prices are supported by the easing of Covid restrictions in China, “the huge city of Chengdu having been liberated and 21 million people having been allowed to resume their lives”, she says. .

In Hong Kong, the chief executive promised announcements on Tuesday concerning the lifting, eagerly awaited by residents and the economic sector, of the strict health restrictions in force for more than two years, even if the city applies a more flexible version. of the Chinese “zero Covid” strategy.

Another supporting factor, OPEC+ (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies) fell short of its August target, producing 3.583 million barrels per day below the announced target, according to a document. internal quoted by the Archyde.com agency.

Something to remind “once once more to the markets of the difficult conditions in which we continue to operate”, and putting concerns regarding supply on the front of the stage, underlines Craig Erlam, analyst at Oanda.

On the natural gas market, the Dutch TTF futures contract, the benchmark for the European market, was trading at 188.005 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), shortly following hitting a low in nearly two months at 169.790 euros.

“This is probably due above all to the increase in gas stocks,” say analysts at Commerzbank.

According to them, “gas storage facilities in Europe are now just under 86% full, which is above the five-year average”.