Oil fell as markets struggled to shake off fears that higher interest rates will weigh on global growth.
(Bloomberg) — Oil fell as markets struggled to shake off fears that higher interest rates will weigh on global growth.
Revived concerns about the potential for recessions around the world have overshadowed oil markets’ supply and demand trends. Several policymakers struck a hawkish tone on interest rates last week, and the president of the European Central Bank said Tuesday that it probably won’t be able to declare the end of its historic interest-rate hiking cycle any time soon.
West Texas Intermediate settled below $68 as front month prices have struggled to find direction since May.
“Oil is well and truly stuck and rangebound, taking all the news on the chin,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodities strategy at Saxo Bank.
Meanwhile, key nearby timespreads, which help gauge the strength of the oil market, fell deeper into a bearish contango structure on Tuesday. Timespreads will continue to face headwinds due to pessimistic views on demand and high interest rates, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysts wrote in a note to clients.
Oil in New York remains on track for its first back-to-back quarterly losses since 2019, in part due to headwinds from China’s lackluster economic recovery and aggressive monetary tightening from the US Federal Reserve. Resilient Russian crude exports have added to the pressure on prices.
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