Oil is heading for a weekly decline of about 4% as demand concerns persist

Oil prices fell on Friday, heading towards a weekly decline of about four percent, affected by expectations of higher interest rates, weak global growth and restrictions to combat Covid-19 in China, which negatively affected demand, although the European Union is considering banning Russian oil imports.

By 0130 GMT, Brent crude futures fell 81 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $107.52 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 72 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $103.07 a barrel.

And the two crudes are heading towards a weekly decline of about 3.7 percent.

This was the least volatile week in trading since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, which led to the imposition of sanctions that cut Russian oil supplies and prompted consuming countries to withdraw record volumes of oil from their stockpiles.

China’s central bank governor Yi Gang said Friday that the world’s second-largest economy is not immune to external shocks as well as to internal pressures caused by the spread of the COVID-19 disease.

The statements of Federal Reserve Chairman (US Central Bank) Jerome Powell added to the negative sentiment in the oil market, as he threatened yesterday, Thursday, a large and rapid rise in US interest rates, which pushed the dollar to rise. This means that oil becomes more expensive for buyers of other currencies.