US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $2.49, or 3.3%, to $73.39 after trading between US$78.00 and US$73.13, its lowest since January 5.
Brent posted a 7.8% decline this week, while WTI fell 7.9%.
US job growth accelerated sharply in January amid a persistently resilient labor market, but further moderation in wage gains should reassure the Federal Reserve as it battles inflation.
“The market can’t decide if it should be nervous about a recession or more concerned about the Federal Reserve’s aggressiveness with interest rates,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group.
The US central bank cut rate hikes on Wednesday to a softer rate than last year, but policymakers also anticipated that “continued increases” in borrowing costs would be required.
“Interest rate hikes in 2023 are likely to weigh on the US and European economies, raising fears of an economic slowdown that is likely to dent global demand for crude oil,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, market analyst at Phillip Nova. .
EU countries agreed on Friday on a proposal by the European Commission to set price limits on processed Russian oil products, the Swedish presidency of the European Union said.
ANZ analysts noted a sharp increase in traffic in China’s 15 largest cities following the Lunar New Year holiday, but also noted that Chinese merchants had been “relatively absent.”
Source: Ambito
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