2024-02-18 13:23:28
Oil prices are falling on Friday afternoon.
As Day.Az reports with reference to Interfax, April Brent futures fell in price on the London ICE Futures exchange by $0.8 (0.97%) to $82.06 per barrel. March futures for WTI fell in price by this time on the NYMEX exchange by $0.68 (0.87%), to $77.35 per barrel.
The day before, Brent rose in price by 1.5%, WTI – by 1.8% due to the risk of interruptions in oil supplies from the Middle East region. A day earlier, prices fell by about the same amount on data about an increase in US oil reserves by more than 12 million barrels.
“The market is not showing much desire for growth, and traders are taking profits,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.
The oil market was unobviously supported yesterday by worse-than-expected data from the United States, which indicated a 0.8% drop in retail sales in the country in January instead of the expected 0.1% decline. This was perceived by the market as an argument in favor of the imminent start of lowering interest rates by the Federal Reserve System.
“Hopes for a rate cut in the US supported prices on Thursday, but now investors are adjusting their positions ahead of the long weekend in the States,” said NS Trading President Hiroyuki Kikukawa.
On Monday, US stock exchanges will be closed in observance of Presidents’ Day.
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