Oil set to end turbulent week below US$100 on slowdown concerns
BNN Bloomberg
Oil is poised to end the week below US$100 a barrel for the first time since early April after another volatile period of trading marked by escalating concerns over an economic slowdown.
West Texas Intermediate tumbled below US$91 a barrel on Thursday, erasing all of the gains seen in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, before clawing back some of those losses. Futures edged higher on Friday, but the US benchmark is still down around 8 per cent for the week.
President Joe Biden is scheduled to touch down in Saudi Arabia on Friday as part of a Middle East tour, just days after a report showed US inflation surged to a four-decade high last month, much of it driven by energy costs. He is expected to leave the region without a public announcement on increasing oil supply, people familiar with the matter said.
China’s economy, meanwhile, grew at the slowest pace since the Wuhan outbreak.
