Despite hawkish Fed comments and US crude builds, oil prices remain stable.
On Thursday, the oil market had a subdued performance as hawkish remarks by Federal Reserve officials bolstered the US currency and stoked worries about impending interest rate increases. This therefore affected crude market prices.
Stronger US jobs data’s impact on oil prices
Stronger-than-anticipated US employment data last week shocked the crude market and refocused attention on the likelihood of a more hawkish Fed. The likelihood of increasing interest rates is seen negatively for oil since it may slow down the economy and further reduce demand.
Oil prices are raised by China’s recovering demand and supply disruptions.
Despite the unfavorable circumstances, crude prices enjoyed significant rises this week due to optimism for a resurgence in Chinese demand and supply interruptions brought on by earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Reiterating its prediction for a strong rebound in Chinese demand this year, the International Energy Agency.
Resumption of Iraq-Turkey Pipeline Flows Is Offset by US Supply Glut
Exports from the important Ceyhan port have not started up yet because of the bad weather, despite some pipeline flows from Iraq to Turkey having resumed after being briefly interrupted. As the world’s top consumer of oil, worries over a supply glut in the US counterbalance this promising trend. According to official statistics, US oil stocks grew for the seventh week in a row, with growing gasoline and distillate inventories signaling sluggish retail fuel demand.
Attention Turns to Inflation Readings from Important Economies
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) of the US is the first of many major nations’ inflation readings that the oil market is currently keeping an eye on in the coming days. Market players will continue to keep a close eye on these figures in an effort to predict where oil prices will go in the future.