oil prices they had a strong fall this Tuesday, January 2, 2023 in a market distressed by a possible drop in demand due to the health situation in China and milder than normal temperatures in Europe and the United States.
(See: Oil closes a turbulent year on the rise).
The price of a barrel of Brent North Sea, for delivery in March, it lost 4.43%, to 82.10 Dollars, in London.
Meanwhile, the barrel of West Texas intermediate (WTI), for February, it gave up 4.14%, to 76.93 dollars, in New York.
(See: Oil registers a slight drop due to uncertainty due to covid-19 cases).
‘The impact of China fuels the debate in the market’, John Kilduff explainedfrom AgainCapital.
“Is it really a reopening (of economic activity, ndlr), with a pick up in demand, or will they first have to go through a very difficult phase that will affect demand?” he asked himself.
(See: Brent and WTI prices continued to fall, this Wednesday).
Oil returned to below $100 a barrel.
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British health risk analysis firm Airfinity estimates that the coronavirus caused some 161,800 deaths in China since December 1, 2022, and foresees 1.8 million daily infections and a total of 1.7 million deaths by the end of April 2023.
(See: ExxonMobil sued the EU to block tax on oil companies).
“The near-term outlook for the Chinese economy remains grim, amid a mountain of Covid infections,” wrote in an analysis note Duncan Wrigley, from Pantheon Macroeconomics. Kilduff added the heat wave in Europe and part of the United States as a factor ‘negative‘ for demand in the middle of boreal winter.
AFP
