New Delhi: International crude oil prices fell on Friday after China expanded its COVID-related restrictions.
China is the second largest importer of crude and the latest lockdown in its cities has raised concerns about a drop in demand for the fuel. The strengthening of the US dollar had an impact on crude oil prices on Friday as well.
At around 2.30 pm, Brent’s December contract on the Intercontinental Exchange was trading at $96.32 a barrel, down 0.66% from its previous close. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) December contract fell 1.07% to $88.13 a barrel.
Analysts said supply concerns remain. In addition, a strong recovery in US GDP in the third quarter reported on Thursday limited the losses. US GDP growth grew 2.6% in the third quarter.
“Record crude exports from the US are a sign of improving global oil demand. The US third quarter GDP estimates released on Thursday were also better than expected and supported oil prices. However, he added that demand concerns from China will continue to be the major concern.
“We expect crude oil prices to remain volatile, although production cuts by OPEC+ countries will continue to support oil prices,” he said.
Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities, said that international oil prices traded weak on Friday as fresh Covid-19 cases in China could put demand on the weaker side. However, record exports from the US may decline, Iyer said.
Retail fuel prices in India remained unchanged. In the national capital, the price of petrol was 96.72 per litre, and diesel was sold for 89.62 per liter.
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