NEW YORK, Feb 23 (NNN-XINHUA) – Oil prices pulled back yesterday, as traders remained concerned over the prospects of fuel demand.
The West Texas Intermediate for Apr delivery, dropped 2.41 U.S. dollars, or 3.16 percent, to settle at 73.95 dollars a barrel, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for Apr delivery, lost 2.45 dollars, or 2.95 percent, to close at 80.6 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
“The oil market still has a recession obsession,” Phil Flynn, senior market analyst, at The PRICE Futures Group, said in a note, yesterday.
“Oil prices have been held back on fears that rising interest rates will cause a recession and reduce demand,” he said.
The minutes from the Federal Reserve’s Jan 31-Feb 1 policy meeting, released yesterday, showed, Fed officials remained concerned over inflation and supported further increases in interest rates.
Traders also awaited data on U.S. fuel stockpiles, as the U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its weekly petroleum status report today. Analysts polled by S&P Global Commodity Insights, expect the report to show a climb of one million barrels in U.S. crude supplies, for the weekend.– NNN-XINHUA