Oil prices ended mixed on Tuesday ahead of the US central bank’s decision on its benchmark interest rates, which will have an impact on the global economy.
the barrel of north sea brent for March delivery ended down 0.48% at $84.49 in London.
Meanwhile, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for March delivery ended up 1.24% at $78.87 in New York.
The meeting of the Federal Reserve US (fed), which began on Tuesday, “pushes traders to remain expectant,” summarized Andrew Lebow, an analyst at Commodity Research Group.
The fed it is due to announce its decision on interest rates on Wednesday. Traders expect a quarter point rise, after several hikes of half or three quarters of a percentage point to combat inflation.
“Whatever they say could push the dollar lower,” Michael Zuzolo of Global Community Analytics and Consulting warned, as the Fed appears to be nearing the end of its tightening cycle.
A new fall in the dollar would support the crude oil prices by making the barrel cheaper for investors in other currencies.
However, for Commerzbank analysts, black gold faces “headwinds” due to “globally negative market sentiment” following high figures for Russian crude oil exports in January despite the European embargo.
Operators also expect the Opec+ alliance that meets this week to maintain its production quotas.
For Lebow, US oil was also boosted by the upward revision of the IMF’s growth forecast for 2023, which rose to 2.9% from the 2.7% forecast in October.
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