Oil prices fell 3 percent on Monday due to a stronger US dollar and rising coronavirus cases in China.
Brent crude oil sold at $93.14 a barrel yesterday after falling $2.85 or 3 percent, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude traded at $85.87 a barrel after deflating $3.09 or 3 percent. .47 percent.
Market sentiment deteriorated as COVID-19 cases rose in China over the weekend, with Beijing and other major cities reporting record infections on Monday.
On Friday, the National Health Commission updated its COVID rules in the most significant relaxation of restrictions yet, describing the changes as optimizing its measures to soften the impact on people’s lives, even as China sticks to its zero COVID policy for almost three years. to the pandemic.
However, several major cities, including Beijing, saw record infections on Monday, posing a challenge to authorities struggling to quell outbreaks quickly while trying to minimize the impact on people’s lives and the economy.
Other cities, including Yanji in the northeast and Hefei in the east, said they would halt routine community COVID testing, according to official notices, while in the northern city of Shijiazhuang, some families raised concerns about exposing their children to the virus in the school.
The impact also came as the US dollar also rose against the euro and yen as investors braced for potential interest rate hikes from the US Federal Reserve after a policymaker Politics said too much weight was being placed on last week’s cooler US inflation data.
A stronger dollar makes commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies and tends to weigh on oil and other risky assets.
Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cut its forecast for global oil demand growth this year and next, citing economic headwinds.
Meanwhile, Russia will not be able to sell as much oil as it does now once the European Union stops imports without resorting to price caps or significant discounts from current prices from December 5.