On Wednesday, fears about demand caused oil prices to drop by more than 3% and hit their lowest level in seven months. Brent crude futures fell by 3.6% to less than $90 per barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell by almost 4% to $83.46 per barrel.
Brent crude futures are at their lowest level since February 3, and West Texas Intermediate is at its lowest level since January 24.
Prices have gone down mostly because of worries about demand and weaker Chinese trade data. China’s strict restrictions on COVID have cut its demand a lot, and the country’s oil imports dropped by almost 10% in August because of this.
Reuters said, citing the credit rating agency Fitch, that stopping the Nord Stream 1 pipeline has made it more likely that the eurozone will go into a recession. At its meeting tomorrow, it is likely that the European Central Bank will raise interest rates on Thursday.
