London, Wednesday, 20 April 2022
Investors weighed a worsening global economic outlook and fears about sluggish demand in top consumer China against tighter supply from Russia and Libya.
WTI crude futures bottomed around $101 per barrel, a remarkable reversal from daily highs of $104 per barrel.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the IMF and the World Bank lowered their global economic growth forecasts. At the same time, additional coronavirus-related lockdowns in China have cast a pall over the world's largest petroleum importer.
Supplies problems from Libya as a result of a wave of protests, as well as the possibility of an EU embargo on Russian oil, put a floor under prices.
Meanwhile, US crude oil inventories fell 8.02 million barrels to 413.7 million barrels last week, the highest level since January 2021, according to EIA data.
(Written and edited by: The Decision Maker)
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