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Oil prices ease to trade near 2-month lows on China demand fears, dollar strength
Home > Top Stories > Oil prices ease to trade near 2-month lows on China demand fears, dollar strength
Global Banking & Finance Review®
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By Emily Chow
SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Oil prices dropped to trade near two-month lows on Monday, having earlier slid by around $1 a barrel, as supply fears receded while concerns over fuel demand from China and U.S. dollar strength weighed on prices.
Brent crude futures for January had slipped 74 cents, or 0.8%, to $86.88 a barrel by 0715 GMT.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for December were at $79.40 a barrel, down 68 cents or 0.9%, ahead of the contract’s expiry later on Monday. The more active January contract last fell 59 cents or 0.7% to $79.52 a barrel.
Both benchmarks closed Friday at their lowest since Sept. 27, extending losses for a second week, with Brent down 9% and WTI 10% lower.
“Apart from the weakened demand outlook due to China’s COVID curbs, a rebound in the U.S. dollar today is also a bearish factor for oil prices,” said Tina Teng, a CMC Markets analyst.
“Risk sentiment becomes fragile as all the recent major countries’ economic data point to a recessionary scenario, especially in the U.K. and euro zone,” she said, adding that hawkish comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve last week also sparked concerns over the U.S. economic outlook.
New COVID case numbers in China remained close to April peaks as the country battles outbreaks nationwide and in major cities. Schools across some districts in the capital Beijing buckled down for online classes on Monday after officials asked residents to stay home, while the southern city of Guangzhou ordered a five-day lockdown for its most populous district.
The front-month Brent crude futures spread narrowed sharply last week while WTI flipped into a contango, reflecting dwindling supply concerns.
Meanwhile, tight crude supplies in Europe have eased as refiners have piled up stocks ahead of the Dec. 5 European Union embargo on Russian crude, putting pressure on physical crude markets across Europe, Africa and the United States.
The EU’s energy policy chief told Reuters the EU expected to have its regulations completed in time for the introduction of a G7 plan to cap the price of Russian crude on Dec. 5.
RBC Capital analyst Mike Tran said the weak December WTI contract expiration indicated paper market selling rather than true physical market softness.
“Tight global inventories do not support the traditional surplus of barrels rationale for contango,” he said in a note.
While North Sea and West African spot market indicators are far from strong, they are also not suggesting signs of distress, he added.
Diesel markets remained tight, with Europe and the United States competing for barrels. While China nearly doubled its diesel exports in October from a year earlier to 1.06 million tonnes, the volume was well below September’s 1.73 million tonnes.
Demand in China, the world’s top crude importer, remains bogged down by COVID restrictions while expectations of further interest rate rises elsewhere have elevated the greenback, making dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for investors.
(Reporting by Florence Tan and Emily Chow; Editing by Bradley Perrett and Kenneth Maxwell)
Brent crude is a major trading classification of crude oil originating from the North Sea. It serves as a benchmark for oil prices globally and is used to price two-thirds of the world's crude oil.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is a grade of crude oil used as a benchmark in oil pricing. It is sourced from the U.S. and is known for its high quality and low sulfur content.
Contango is a market condition where the futures price of a commodity is higher than the expected spot price at maturity. It often indicates a surplus of supply in the market.
Crude oil futures are contracts to buy or sell oil at a predetermined price at a specified future date. They are used by traders to hedge against price fluctuations in the oil market.
U.S. dollar strength refers to the value of the dollar compared to other currencies. A strong dollar can make U.S. exports more expensive and imports cheaper, affecting trade balances.
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