Crude Oil : IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol stated over the weekend that China’s economy could be poised for a stronger-than-anticipated rebound that will boost crude demand. As a result, WTI crude oil prices stabilized above $73 per barrel on Monday. On Sunday, price caps for Russian oil products and a European ban on seaborne imports were also implemented.
The Saudi Arabian energy minister Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman stated over the weekend that the kingdom will continue to be cautious about increasing supply, and OPEC+ recently decided to maintain its current output policy.
In the meantime, stronger-than-expected employment data in the United States suggested that the Federal Reserve has more room to raise interest rates. As a result, the benchmark US oil price fell by more than 3% on Friday, bringing weekly losses to nearly 8%.
Energy markets were also impacted by Russia’s robust crude oil exports to Asia and the highly uncertain outlook for China’s demand recovery.