The barrel price of Brent oil, which completed the day at $84.46 level yesterday, decreased by 0.15 percent compared to the closing as of 10:00 today and became $84.33. At the same time, West Texas type (WTI) crude oil found buyers at $80.06 a barrel.
Global oil prices approached yearly highs last week. The news that Saudi Arabia and Russia will continue to cut oil production and exports until September and the prediction that there may be a supply shortage in the global oil market in the second half of the year were effective in the rise.
After the rise, oil prices fell today. Concerns that demand would decline with the slowdown in economic activity in China and expectations for a further increase in interest rates in the USA supported the decline in prices.
Interest rate cut in China came in lower than expected
Interest rate cuts in China, the world’s largest oil importer, came in lower than expected. The People’s Bank of China lowered the one-year loan interest rate from 3.55 percent to 3.45%. The aforementioned rate cut brought along concerns that demand in the country would slow down.
On the other hand, other major economies are choosing to raise interest rates to combat high inflation. Market players closely follow the developments in the monetary policy of the USA, the world’s largest oil consumer. US Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell is expected to point to a period of higher interest rates.
It is stated that technically, the range of 84.46 to 84.53 dollars in Brent oil can be followed as resistance and the range of 84.12 to 84.02 dollars as a support zone.
