Specifically, Brent oil prices fell by 2.23 USD, equivalent to 2.7%, to 79.66 USD/barrel - the lowest level since January 11.
At the same time, US WTI oil prices fell by 2.49 USD, equivalent to 3.3%, to 73.39 USD/barrel - the lowest level since January 5. For the whole week, Brent and WTI oil decreased by 7.8%, 7.9% respectively.
Today's oil prices suddenly turned to plummet after the US employment data increased strongly. This raises concerns that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will raise interest rates higher.
In midweek, the US Central Bank reduced the scale of interest rate increases, with an increase of only 1/4 percentage point, much lower than the increase of 75 basis points in 4 consecutive times in 2022 and 0.5 percentage points last month.
Priyanka Sachdeva - market analyst at Phillip Nova - said that the interest rate increase in 2023 may affect the US and European economies, raising concerns about economic recession, potentially reducing global crude oil demand.
In another development, EU countries have agreed to set price ceilings for Russian refined oil products.
According to EU diplomats, the price cap is $100/barrel for products traded at a higher level than crude oil, mainly diesel.
$45/barrel for products traded at discounts, such as fuel oil and naphtha. These are also the prices previously proposed by the European Commission (EC).
Sweden - the country's current rotating EU President - affirmed that this is an important agreement and part of the next efforts of the EU and its partners to put pressure on Russia in the context of the conflict in Ukraine.
Previously, on February 1, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) also agreed to keep the current production cuts unchanged, in the context of the prospect of gradually improving fuel demand in China.
