Oil prices fell today, Thursday, after economic data showed a large and unexpected increase in US crude inventories for the second week in a row, which raised fears of lower demand for fuel.
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell by 1.1%, by 86 cents, to reach $78.62 a barrel, while Brent crude futures fell by 0.9%, by 73 cents, to $84.25 a barrel, to continue incurring losses after falling about 1% yesterday, Wednesday.
The market was weakened by fears of a looming US economic downturn after Federal Reserve officials said interest rates needed to rise by more than 5% to control inflation even after data showed retail sales fell more than expected in March. Dec.
This raised the specter of a recession, with risk appetite hurting as a result, analysts at ANZ Research said in a note to clients, published by Reuters.
The matter was exacerbated after the data of the American Petroleum Institute showed an increase in US crude oil inventories by about 7.6 million barrels in the week ending January 13, according to market sources.
