Oil prices fell on Friday as recession fears clouded demand prospects, though they were still on track for a weekly rise.
crude oil futures Brent was down $1.151.2%, to $98.45 a barrel at 11:10 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) fell 1.48 dollars1.6%, to 92.86 dollars a barrel.
Brent was on track to rise almost 4% this week after last week’s 14% drop, its biggest weekly decline since April 2020, amid fears that rising inflation and rate hikes interest rates affect economic growth and fuel demand.
Uncertainty limited price advances as the market absorbed contrasting views on demand from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA)
“We’re seeing an economic slowdown, but it’s not clear if it’s as big as some of the recent outlooks have been predicting,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank. “Demand will be up and down, but supply remains the main concern.”
On Thursday, OPEC cut its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2022 by 260,000 barrels per day (bpd). It now expects demand to increase by 3.1 million bpd this year.
Instead, the IEA raised its demand growth forecast to 2.1 million bpd citing the switch from gas to oil in power generation.
The IEA also raised its Russian oil supply outlook by 500,000 bpd for the second half of 2022, but said OPEC would struggle to increase output.
