Crude Oil Price Heads for Second Straight Weekly Drop

Crude Oil : Price steadied around $83.5 per barrel on Friday, but were still headed for the second straight
weekly drop on a weakening demand outlook driven by central banks’ aggressive monetary tightening and top importer
China’s Covid-19 curbs.

The US benchmark is down about 4% so far this week, sliding at one point to near eight-month lows. The European
Central Bank delivered a historic 75 basis point rate hike on Thursday.Crude Oil Price

While Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated the central bank’s commitment to fighting inflation. In China,
the mega-city of Chengdu extended a lockdown for most of its more than 21 million residents on Thursday, highlighting
the country’s strict adherence to its zero-Covid strategy that is derailing economic recovery and clouding the demand outlook.

Oil’s decline came despite a surprise output cut by OPEC+, Russia’s threat to cut energy flows to countries that support a price cap on its crude and a weaker outlook for US supply.