Oil prices ended August with a decline and continued to fall on the first day of September.
At the end of last month, Brent fell by 12.3%, WTI – by 9.2%, and negative dynamics were noted for the third month in a row, which is the longest such period since the first half of 2020.
The price of November Brent futures on the London exchange ICE Futures at 8:10 Moscow time on Thursday is $95.18 per barrel, which is $0.46 (0.48) below the closing price of the previous session. According to the results of trading on Wednesday, these contracts fell in price by $2.2 (2.3%), to $95.64 per barrel.
The price of WTI oil futures for October on the electronic trading of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is currently $89.08 per barrel, which is $0.47 (0.52%) lower than the final value of the previous session. By the close of the market the day before, the value of these contracts decreased by $2.09 (2.3%), to $89.55 per barrel.
Pressure on the market is caused by fears of a downturn in the world economy against the background of tightening of monetary policy by the world’s largest central banks, as well as coronavirus restrictions in effect in China, according to the Bloomberg agency.
“Concerns about the state of the economy are a key reason for the decline in the oil market,” said WTRG Economics energy markets analyst James Williams, quoted by Market Watch.
“OPEC expresses concerns about demand prospects, and sometimes representatives of the cartel raise the question of reducing quotas. The possibility of a recession now occupies an important place in OPEC’s thinking,” the expert notes.
