The oil price index wavered Tuesday, July 5, between gains and losses, caught between recession fears that are weighing on-demand, and supply shortages in several producing countries.
A barrel of North Sea Brent Crude for September delivery lost 1.17% to USD 112.17.
The barrel of U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), for delivery in August, was up 0.01% to 108.45 USD.
“The current mixed signals from the demand (bearish) and supply (bullish) sides of the oil equation make forecasting oil prices a laborious task,” analysts commented.
“It is impossible to predict when the focus will irrevocably shift from supply to demand,” the analysts explained. In Norway, oil workers have joined a strike, “and their action will exacerbate the pain of rising prices,” predicted analyst Susannah Streeter.
Libya, with the most abundant reserves in Africa, is in the midst of a serious institutional crisis and is also experiencing production cuts.
However, fears of recession persist, weighing on demand. At the same time, reduced supply is pushing up the price of natural gas.
Since the beginning of the year, the price of Dutch TTF, the benchmark for natural gas in Europe, has risen by more than 110%, reaching 176.01 euros per megawatt-hour on Tuesday 5 July.
This is the highest since early March when the price briefly reached an all-time high of more than 300 euros shortly after the start of the Ukrainian crisis.
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