Oil prices end week lower amid concerns over further interest rate increases
Shafaq News / Oil prices ended the week lower as strong US economic data sparked concerns of further interest rate increases, which in turn could crimp economic growth and dampen demand for crude.
Brent, the benchmark for two thirds of the world’s oil, settled 2.51 per cent lower at $83 a barrel at the close of trading on Friday, while West Texas Intermediate, the gauge that tracks US crude, lost 2.74 per cent to close at $76.34 a barrel.
"Crude prices are falling as supplies are plentiful and as global growth concerns return as the Fed and ECB seem poised to take interest rates even further into restrictive territory," said Edward Moya, a senior market analyst at Oanda.
The US producer price index rose by 0.7 per cent in January on higher energy costs, after falling by 0.2 per cent in December, a report from the Bureau of Labour Statistics showed on Thursday.
Meanwhile, jobless claims in the world’s largest economy fell marginally to 194,000 in the week ending February 11, from 195,000 the in the week earlier.
“The January US PPI print provided further evidence of price inflation being more persistent than had earlier been anticipated, with two of the Fed’s more hawkish officials suggesting that the case for larger 50 basis point hikes may be returning,” said Jeanne Walters, senior economist at Emirates NBD.
Earlier this week, data from the US Labour Department showed that the consumer price index overall slowed to 6.4 per cent annual in January, from 6.5 per cent the previous month, its smallest annual increase since October 2021.
This month, the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates — for the eighth time since last year — by 25 bps, and indicated that more increases were to come.
(The National)
