Oil prices fall as strong dollar, worries over China weigh on sentiment

By Shariq Khan

(Reuters) -Oil prices fell on Friday as a strong dollar, mixed economic signals and concern over China’s economy weighed on investor sentiment.

Brent crude prices fell by 41 cents, or 0.5%, to $84.70 a barrel by 0650 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 49 cents, or 0.6%, to $82.33 a barrel.

For the week, Brent was down 0.3%, while WTI was trading marginally higher.

The U.S. dollar index climbed for the second consecutive session after stronger-than-expected data on the U.S. labour market and manufacturing earlier in the week. A stronger greenback dampens demand for dollar-denominated oil from buyers holding other currencies.

A lack of concrete stimulus measures from top oil importer China has also weighed on commodities overall, ANZ analysts said in a note.

China’s economy grew at a slower-than-expected 4.7% pace in the second quarter, official data showed, sparking concerns about the country’s oil demand.

“Concerns over supply in the short term kept the losses minimal,” ANZ said, however, referring to worsening wildfires threatening production in Canadian oil sands.

Elsewhere on the economic front, Japan’s core inflation perked up in June, leaving the door open for an interest rate hike in the major oil market.

Oil prices found some support in the prior two sessions after the U.S. government reported a bigger-than-expected weekly decline in oil stockpiles.

Analysts at consultancy firm FGE, though, said broader inventory trends look more bearish than expected this month. They noted U.S. crude stocks have drawn at a slower-than-usual pace for this time of the year and global fuel stocks rose last week.

Meanwhile, the OPEC+ producer group is unlikely to recommend changing the group’s output policy, including a plan to start unwinding one layer of oil output cuts from October, three sources told Reuters on Thursday.

This post is originally published on INVESTING.

  • Related Posts

    Oil settles lower as US dollar surges, investors take stock of Trump victory

    By Georgina McCartney HOUSTON (Reuters) -Oil prices fell on Wednesday as investors weighed a strong U.S. dollar against the potential that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s foreign-policy plans could squeeze global…

    Factbox-What links have Trump and his allies maintained with Gulf states?

    DUBAI (Reuters) – Donald Trump, who won a second term in office with his victory in Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election, and several of his allies continued to engage with the…

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    You Missed

    Oil settles lower as US dollar surges, investors take stock of Trump victory

    • November 6, 2024
    Oil settles lower as US dollar surges, investors take stock of Trump victory

    Factbox-What links have Trump and his allies maintained with Gulf states?

    • November 6, 2024
    Factbox-What links have Trump and his allies maintained with Gulf states?

    Metals sell off after US election Trump win while oil, agriculture recoup some losses

    • November 6, 2024
    Metals sell off after US election Trump win while oil, agriculture recoup some losses

    easyMarkets Registers Strong Q3 Trading Volume, USDJPY Jumps 98%

    • November 6, 2024
    easyMarkets Registers Strong Q3 Trading Volume, USDJPY Jumps 98%

    Oil falls as US dollar surges, investors take stock of Trump victory

    • November 6, 2024
    Oil falls as US dollar surges, investors take stock of Trump victory

    Euro slump to continue as Trump victory, likely ‘red wave’ to add steel to dollar

    • November 6, 2024
    Euro slump to continue as Trump victory, likely ‘red wave’ to add steel to dollar