Oil prices down as low demand concerns prevail

ANKARA

Oil prices continued to fall on Thursday amid potential diminished oil demand from recession fears in the US.

International benchmark Brent crude traded at $93.98 per barrel at 09.33 a.m. local time (0633 GMT) for a 0.13% decrease from the closing price of $94.10 a barrel in the previous trading session.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $88.42 per barrel at the same time for a 0.07% loss after the previous session closed at $88.48 a barrel.

Fears of rising interest rates, which could lead to an economic recession, knocked prices down. Higher-than-expected inflation in the US triggered concerns that the Federal Reserve could make large-scale rate hikes.

The slower oil demand pace in China, the world's largest importer of crude oil, is also putting pressure on prices, with strict Covid lockdowns in various parts of the country.

In line with its zero-Covid policy, Beijing introduced new lockdown measures last week.

Meanwhile, US commercial crude oil inventories increased 0.6% during the week ending Sept. 9, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday.

Inventories rose by around 2.4 million barrels to 429.6 million barrels, against the market expectation of a fall of around 200,000 barrels, signaling lower demand.