Oil continues to decline, negatively affected by disappointing US labor market data, which showed fewer jobs added than expected and the unemployment rate rose, causing negative sentiment towards the US economy to increase. Concerns about the possibility of the US economy facing a recession overshadowed investors’ concerns about supply disruptions due to escalating tensions in the Middle East. This is the fourth consecutive week of losses for Brent and WTI crude, their longest losing streak since November last year. In addition, several factors contributed to the negative sentiment, such as a decline in diesel consumption in China and OPEC+’s plan to gradually begin easing production cuts starting in October. OPEC’s increase in oil production in July, as a result of Saudi Arabia’s increase in production rates, also played a major role in the downward pressure on prices. Although geopolitical tensions in the Middle East initially raised concerns about potential disruptions to oil supplies, these fears have largely receded compared to economic concerns, causing prices to stabilize at their lowest level in several weeks.
Oil falls amid growing fears of a US recession, markets ignore geopolitical tensions
