2024-07-14 00:26:51
Oil prices fell on Tuesday after Hurricane Beryl caused less damage than feared to U.S. oil facilities and after the Federal Reserve chairman’s still very cautious comments on the path of interest rates.
The price of a barrel of North Sea Brent crude oil for delivery in September fell 1.27% to $84.66.
Its US equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), for delivery in August, fell 1.11% to $81.41.
After crossing the Caribbean, Hurricane Beryl hit Texas on Monday, bringing heavy rains that caused flooding and massive power outages, and killed at least five people in the southern United States.
The phenomenon caused “less damage than expected to the affected infrastructure, and fears of an impact on oil supply have dissipated,” said Ricardo Evangelista, an analyst at ActivTrades.
Ultimately, Beryl should have “little to no impact on US oil markets,” summed up Matt Britzman of Hargreaves Lansdown.
Investors also paid close attention to statements by Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, the US central bank, before the US Congress on Tuesday.
Powell noted “modest” progress on inflation, but above all reiterated that he expected “more good data” in the right direction before considering a cut in interest rates, which would be beneficial for demand.
Price Futures Group’s Phil Flynn was more optimistic about price developments, citing Tuesday’s latest release from the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA).
The agency raised its estimate of global demand for crude oil, as well as its assessment of the price of a barrel for the second half of the year, placing it at $89, instead of the average of $84 for the first half.
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© Agence France-Presse
