On Wednesday, US authorities released new figures that showed a decline in oil inventories. On Thursday morning, a barrel of North Sea oil was trading at $106.10 (-0.8%), while West Texas Intermediate oil was trading at $99 (-0.9%).
Nordnet’s Roger Berntsen believes that higher pump prices have dampened consumer demand, even in the peak driving season. Although the price of oil has fallen sharply from its highs earlier this year, it is still ten dollars above the lows we saw a week ago.
Recession will affect oil prices
“Oil, not least gas prices, are still supported by geopolitical risk factors associated with the war in Ukraine. If the global economy enters a recession, the price of oil is likely to follow suit, which is good news for consumers in the slightly longer term,” Berntsen wrote in a report. .
US stock markets continued to rise on Wednesday, buoyed by the rise in the quarterly numbers of a number of companies. The Nasdaq rose 1.6 percent, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 and Nasdaq rose 0.6 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively. Many investors are now awaiting the outcome of Thursday’s interest rate meeting at the European Central Bank, where a key rate hike is expected.
“High inflationary pressures have forced central banks around the world to raise interest rates significantly in recent months, and now it is the ECB’s turn,” wrote Berntsen.
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