The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil, which rose to $86.75 yesterday, closed at $83.29 and increased by 0.12% to $83.39 as of 9:30 am today compared to the closing price. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil found buyers at $77.53 per barrel at the same time.
Oil prices are mixed due to uncertainty about the demand outlook of the world’s largest oil consumer, the United States.
Despite the ultra-hawkish steps taken by the US to combat inflation, the desired results have not been achieved, leading to more talk of interest rate hikes.
In his speech yesterday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stated that recent economic data has come in stronger than expected, indicating that the final level of interest rates may be higher than anticipated.
This situation has put downward pressure on oil prices, as concerns mount that US oil demand will be negatively affected.
On the other hand, the American Petroleum Institute announced that US crude oil inventories are expected to have fallen by 3.835 million barrels last week, compared to the previous week. The market expectation was for a decrease of 308,000 barrels.
The predicted decrease in inventories has supported prices in an upward trend due to the perception that demand is high in the country.
Official inventory data from the US Energy Information Administration will be released today.
It is noted that the range of $83.56 to $83.91 is seen as a resistance level for Brent crude oil, while the range of $83.21 to $82.86 is considered a support zone from a technical standpoint.
