- March 17, 2022
- Posted by: medium
- Category: International
The Brent price yielded 6.53 % and WTI at 6.37 %.
The Brent of the Northern Sea barrel for delivery in May closed on Tuesday below $ 100 for the first time from the second day of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, almost three weeks ago.
The Brent price gave 6.53% to $ 99.91, while the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) barrel for delivery in April yielded 6.37% to $ 96.44.
"After fell more than 20% with respect to the peaks last week, crude oil entered bassist territory," said Fawad Razaqzada, from Thinkmarkets.
"China had the greatest impact" on prices on Tuesday, argued Stephen Schork, from Schork Report. The Chinese decision to order the confinement of dozens of millions of people to contain Covid outbreaks "clearly awakens concerns in the market on demand" of crude.
China is the largest world oil importer with 10 million barrels per day.
"The risk of Chinese demand is real," said Louise Dickson, by Rystad Energy, who pointed out a potential decrease in crude oil consumption of half a million barrels per day for confinements.
However, "China showed in the past its ability to quickly contain the propagation" of the virus "and the impact on energy demand was manifested in the short term," said Bart Melek, of TD Securities.
Black gold prices also fell in reaction to hope that "the treatments between Russia and Ukraine lead to a decala of the conflict," according to Ricardo Evangelista, of Activities.
WTI also in descent
According to data at the end of operations in the New York Mercantile Stock Exchange (NYMEX), WTI futures contracts for delivery in April subtracted $ 6.57 with respect to the previous closure.
The value of Texas crude oil thus decreased more than 20 % from the level it reached a week ago, when the day ended in $ 123.70 a barrel, the highest closure since August 2008 and which was a reaction to the invasion of the Russian forces of Ukraine.
Experts point out that the reason for the fall is especially in the lower demand that is expected from China, after decreeing mass confinctions due to an increase in coronavirus cases.
They point out, however, that this marked decrease in the price of "black gold" could last little, since the cut of the offer caused by the US prohibition and Canada to buy Russian oil has not yet been prosecuted.
"The temporary improvement with the cheapest oil could be brief, however, and the price drop indicates that the market has not yet realized the power impact that the Russian barrels that are lost in relation to the global supply can have," Rystad Energy Louise Dickson explained in a note.
Other analysts point to the confusion that is being lived in the oil market, where volatility has reigned since the invasion of Ukraine.
"There is not much clarity about what is really going to happen in the future with the supply of crude as a result of the conflict," said the CIBC Private Welat Us Rebecca Babin specialist, for whom the market is showing optimistic "without a real change of the facts."
On the other hand, the natural gas contracts for delivery in April subtracted nine cents up to $ 4.57 per thousand cubic feet, and gasoline contracts expiring the same month descended 17 cents, up to 3 dollars the gallon.