Daily Times

On Friday, oil prices fell by 2pc on optimism that supply interruptions in the US Gulf of Mexico would be temporary, while economic worries cast doubt on the prospects for demand. However, futures were still expected to post a weekly gain. By 11:10 a.m., Brent oil futures had dropped $1.47, or 1.5pc, to $98.13 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slid $2.08, or 2.2pc, to $92.26 a barrel as of 15:10 EDT (14:10 GMT). On Thursday, both futures saw gains of more than 2pc. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the International Energy Agency both presented opposing opinions on demand that the market accepted (IEA) While a six-month coordinated energy release agreed upon by the United States and other developed countries is scheduled to expire at the end of the year, European restrictions on Russian oil are expected to become stricter later this year. OPEC reduced its prediction for the rise in global oil demand in 2022 by 260,000 barrels per day on Thursday (bpd). It now anticipates a 3.1m bpd increase in demand this year. In contrast, the IEA increased its demand growth prediction, citing the move from gas to oil in power generation, to 2.1m bpd.