Energy prices plummeted across the board!The two oil prices fell nearly 6%, and WTI fell below the 110 mark
Financial Associated Press, June 18 (Editor Zhao Hao) International crude oil prices fell sharply on Friday (June 17).
As of press time, the price of light sweet crude oil (WTI) futures for July delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by more than $8 to $109.45 a barrel, a drop of more than 6%; the price of Brent crude oil futures in London for August delivery fell At $6.84, it is now reported at $112.97 a barrel, a decrease of 5.71%.
Both crude oil benchmarks fell nearly 6 percent to near three-week lows. On a weekly basis, Brent is on track for its first weekly drop in five, while WTI is on track for its first weekly drop in eight.
Market analysis pointed out that the sharp drop in crude oil was mainly affected by the sharp drop in gasoline prices in the United States. RBOB gasoline futures for July delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell more than 5% during the day.
Some analysts believe that the previous record gasoline prices have begun to have a negative impact on the demand side, for example, people will choose to change their car habits, and some companies will reduce related expenses.
Separately, the Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised the federal funds rate by 75 basis points and said it was focused on bringing inflation back to 2 percent, stoking fears of a U.S. recession. “In recent days, the impact of the macro environment has started to replace oil’s specific fundamentals,” said Callum Macpherson, head of commodities at Investec.
At the same time, the high dollar also weighed on a range of dollar-denominated commodities. The U.S. dollar index rose more than 1% on the day, continuing to stay near its highs since 2002. Natural gas futures for July delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell nearly 7% to $6.95/MMBtu.