Oil prices continue to decline Wednesday after hitting lows over the past month the day before.
July Brent futures on London’s ICE Futures Exchange stood at $73.35 a barrel by 8:05 a.m. Wednesday, down $0.19 (0.26%) from the previous session’s close. Those contracts fell $3.53 (4.6%) to $73.54 a barrel on Tuesday.
July WTI futures on NYMEX fell by $0.24 (0.35%) to $69.22 per barrel by that time. The contracts fell by $3.21 (4.4%) to $69.46 a barrel at the end of the last session.
According to Dow Jones Market Data, both grades closed the previous day at their lowest level since May 4.
Traders’ attention is still directed to the situation with the U.S. debt ceiling. On Wednesday, it’s expected to vote in the House of Representatives on the draft agreement reached by President Joe Biden and the Speaker of the Lower House of Congress, Republican Kevin McCarthy, after which the document will go to the Senate.
In addition, the market is assessing macroeconomic data from China. The published May official value of purchasing managers index (PMI) in the processing industry didn’t justify the 49.4 points forecast of analysts, having decreased to the minimum for five months of 48.8 points from 49.2 points in April.
The weak statistics strengthened fears of a slowdown in economic growth in China, the world’s top oil importer, Trading Economics said.
