Oil fell as markets struggled to shake off fears that higher interest rates would weigh on global growth.
Revised concerns about the potential for recession around the world have overshadowed supply and demand trends in oil markets. A number of policymakers took a hawkish tone on interest rates last week, with the president of the European Central Bank saying on Tuesday that he probably won’t be able to declare an end to his historic cycle of interest rate hikes in the brief
West Texas Intermediate settled below $68 as first-month prices have struggled to find direction since May.
“Oil is really stuck and limited, taking all the news on the chin,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodities strategy at Saxo Bank.
Prices:
Meanwhile, major nearby temporal differences, which help measure the strength of the oil market, fell further on Tuesday in a bearish contango structure. Timespreads will continue to face headwinds due to pessimistic views on demand and high interest rates, analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. wrote. in a note to clients.
Oil in New York remains on track for its first consecutive quarterly losses since 2019, partly due to headwinds from China’s sluggish economic recovery and aggressive monetary tightening by the US Federal Reserve. Resilient Russian crude exports have added to pressure on prices.
