Oil prices are rising on Wednesday after falling the day before to their lowest since December last year on increased fears of a recession in the U.S. as a result of problems in the banking sector.
Brent crude futures on London’s ICE Futures Exchange stood at $78.52 a barrel by 7:05 a.m., up $1.07 (1.38%) from the close of the previous session. Those contracts fell $3.32 (4.1%) to $77.45 a barrel on Tuesday.
The price of WTI April futures at electronic trades of NYMEX grew by that time by $1.09 (1.52%) to $72.42 per barrel. At the end of previous session the contracts cost decreased by $3.47 (4.6%) down to $71.33 per barrel.
Both Brent and WTI futures closed Tuesday at their lowest levels since Dec. 9.
“The oil market is acting as if a recession in the economy is imminent,” notes Price Futures Group analyst Phil Flynn, quoted by Market Wach. – With signals of increased demand in China and a pullback in the U.S. dollar, one would expect oil to withstand all this economic turmoil.”
OPEC on Tuesday kept its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2023 at 2.3 million bpd. The organization raised its forecasts slightly for the first three quarters of 2023 and lowered them for the fourth.
According to the monthly report, stronger demand growth in China will offset declines in the U.S. and Europe.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) will release its review on Wednesday.
