Oil prices fell on Monday due to continued risks in the global banking sector that could cause a recession that leads to a decline in demand, and ahead of a possible interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve this week.
Goldman Sachs cut its forecast for the price of Brent crude to $94 a barrel over the next 12 months, in light of the banking crisis and with the possibility of a recession outweighing the increase in demand from China.
Brent crude futures for May delivery fell by 1.71% to $71.72 a barrel, at 09:09 am Mecca time.
Nymex crude futures for April delivery fell 1.68%, at $65.62 a barrel.
While Chinese government data showed today that Russia topped oil suppliers to China in the first two months of 2023, with a total of 15.68 million tons or (1.94 million barrels per day), an increase of 23.8% on an annual basis.
According to Reuters calculations based on official data, China added about 270,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude to commercial or strategic stocks during January and February, in anticipation of a rise in the price of crude as demand in its economy rebounds.
