London, (Business News Report)|| Oil prices witnessed a decline of 1%, Thursday morning, under pressure from fears of a global recession and concern about the negative impact on global financial markets.
Concerns in the oil markets overcame supplies and tension in Europe.
Brent crude futures fell $1.25, or 1.2%, to $106.26 a barrel by 0303 GMT.
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell $1.24, or 1.2%, to $104.47 a barrel.
According to Reuters, oil prices are under pressure this week, along with global financial markets, amid concerns about high interest rates, the dollar’s rise to its highest level in two decades, and concerns about inflation and a possible recession.
The prolonged shutdown to combat COVID-19 in China, the world’s largest importer of crude, has also affected the market.
Oil prices are also receiving support from a ban under consideration in the European Union for Russian oil, a major supplier of crude and fuel to the bloc, which could lead to a further decline in global supplies.
The European Union is still bargaining over the details of the Russian embargo.
Passing the ban needs consensus, and it has been postponed because Hungary opposes the ban because it would be very damaging to its economy.
On Wednesday, oil prices jumped 5% after Russia imposed sanctions on 31 companies in countries that were sanctioned after the invasion of Ukraine.
This caused concern in the market at a time when the flow of Russian natural gas to Europe through Ukraine fell by a quarter.
This is the first time that exports through Ukraine have been disrupted since the invasion.
Concerns about deteriorating demand in China, which is trying to curb the spread of the Coronavirus, also curbed the rise in prices.
American energy
In a related context, US crude oil imports and exports declined during the week ending May 6, the US Energy Information Administration said in a report released on Wednesday.
US crude oil imports averaged 6.269 million barrels per day last week, a decrease of about 62,000 barrels per day from the previous week.
While the average crude oil exports amounted to about 2.879 million barrels per day, a decrease of about 695,000 barrels per day from the previous week, according to the weekly Petroleum Status Report.
Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged about 6.093 million barrels per day, an increase of about 15.7% compared to the same four-week period last year.
