Oil prices collapsed on Wednesdayin a market that fears a sharp drop in demand while the supply of black gold strengthens.
(Oil rose on fears of new sanctions against Russia.)
The price of a barrel North Sea Brent for June delivery fell 5.22% to $101.07 in London.
For its part, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for May delivery fell 5.61% to $96.23 in New York.
For Edward Moya, an analyst at Oanda, the tone of the day was set by the members of the International Energy Agency (IEA), with their announcement of extracting 120 million barrels from their reserves to ease prices.
Last week, US President Joe Biden pledged to release an additional 180 million barrels of reserves in the coming months.
Shortly before, prices had already weakened due to the announcement of a surprise rise in commercial crude oil reserves in the United States, which rose 2.4 million barrels (mb) last week when analysts had expected a decline of 2.8 mb.
“It seems that we worry about a weakening in demand”, explained Phil Flynn of Price Futures Group, referring to a moderation in gasoline consumption in the United States, according to official data published on Wednesday by the US Energy Information Agency.
“Some Wonder” if record gasoline prices don’t lead to “people change their habits” and drive less, he added.
Added to this concern about the US market is concern about demand in China, where more than 20,000 covid infections were registered on Wednesday, a record, despite strict confinement measures, particularly in Shanghai.
AFP