WTI Crude Retreats Below $90

The US crude oil benchmark dipped early on Thursday to the lowest level in months, falling below $90 a barrel for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine at the end of February.

WTI trades now at $91.9, but at 10:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, the US benchmark WTI Crude had fallen by 1.16% on the day and traded at $89.58. The international benchmark, Brent Crude, was also down and trading below $100 per barrel for a second consecutive day, amid a global economic slowdown and fears of recession, which could dent demand growth this year compared to last year. Brent had dropped by 1.44% to $95.36 at 10:30 a.m.

Moreover, the tightness in physical crude markets seems to have eased in recent days, with spot deliveries being traded at smaller premiums.

Oil prices settled 4% lower on Wednesday, to levels seen just before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a large build in crude oil inventories of 4.5 million barrels for the week to July 29.

The main bearish signal for crude appeared to come from the Energy Information Administration’s data showing an unexpected and sizeable build in US commercial crude inventories and a plunge in gasoline demand for the week ended July 29.