Crude oil prices fell globally by about 1.5%, at the end of the day, Monday, May 1 (2023), affected by economic tensions related to the prospects of the US Federal Reserve raising interest rates again.
Crude prices were also affected by weak Chinese manufacturing data, at a time when the market expects a crisis with the start of voluntary production cuts by some OPEC + countries, which is scheduled to enter into force this month, according to Reuters.
Crude oil prices fell to less than $80 per barrel of Brent crude at the end of last week’s transactions, achieving weekly losses on Friday, according to information seen by the specialized energy platform.
Crude oil prices today
At the end of the session, Brent crude futures – for July 2023 delivery – fell by 1.3%, to record $79.31 a barrel.
At the same time, US West Texas Intermediate crude futures – for June 2023 delivery – fell by about 1.5%, to reach $75.66 a barrel.
And the futures contracts for Brent and West Texas crude recorded strong weekly losses, by the end of Friday, April 28, as the price of Brent crude fell to less than $80 per barrel, while West Texas crude fell to about $73.
The decline comes in anticipation of another rate hike in the US by the US Federal Reserve, at a time when consumer spending was flat in March, as an increase in spending on services was offset by a decline in goods.
Oil price analysis
The head of commodity and carbon strategy at the National Australia Bank, Baden Moore, said another rate hike by the Federal Reserve this week is expected to increase price volatility in the near term.
He pointed out that the Fed is expected to raise interest rates by another 25 basis points this week, as it raised rates by 475 basis points since March 2022, from the near-zero level to the current range of 4.75-5%.
Meanwhile, China’s manufacturing PMI fell to 49.2 from 51.9 in March, dipping below the 50-point mark that separates expansion from contraction in activity on a monthly basis, official data showed.
In turn, the “ANZ Research” research institution announced that investors will remain cautious amid conflicting economic signals, as Brent crude has been tracking the broader markets in recent sessions, with a large number of economic data that creates more uncertainty about the outlook.
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