Oil closed lower due to strengthening of the dollar and doubts about demand

Oil closed lower due to strengthening of the dollar and doubts about demand

During the beginning of the day, prices operated higher, after the Japanese Industry Minister said that the International Energy Agency (IEA) was still discussing a coordinated release of oil reserves that many operators thought was already a deal. done. After that, prices traded flat for most of the day.

Demand concerns grew after authorities in top oil importer China extended a lockdown in Shanghai to cover the financial hub’s 26 million residents.

At the same time, crude oil was also pressured by a dollar that appreciated for the fourth consecutive day and reached its highest level since May 2020 against a basket of other representative global currencies. It is worth noting that a stronger dollar makes oil more expensive for holders of other currencies.

Meanwhile, the United States and the European Union have proposed sweeping new sanctions against Russia over the deaths of civilians in Ukraine, including an EU ban on coal imports.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the coal ban will be followed by oil and then gas.

Moscow, which calls its action in Ukraine a “special operation,” said Western accusations of war crimes in the Ukrainian town of Bucha were a “monstrous forgery” intended to denigrate the Russian military.

To calm oil prices, Washington’s allies agreed last week to a coordinated release of strategic reserves for the second time in a month.

Source: Ambito

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