An early review of oil prices on Friday, October 6 revealed that Brent crude price was at $84.21 per barrel around 6:17 AM (GMT+1).
Reuters reports that oil prices appeared poised for their most significant weekly drop since March, even as they registered an increase on Friday.
According to Reuters, this surge was accompanied by apprehensions triggered by a sell-off in the United States bond market, which raised alarms about a potential worldwide economic deceleration and the looming spectre of a substantial decrease in fuel demand.
A part of the Reuters report noted:
- “On Friday, Brent futures were up 26 cents, or 0.3%, at $84.33 at 0358 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 28 cents, or 0.3%, at $82.59, recovering slightly from a 2% decline on Thursday.
- “Oil prices are stabilizing after a brutal week that saw a relentless bond market selloff trigger global growth worries,” said Edward Moya, an analyst at OANDA.
- “The worst week for crude since March is starting to attract buyers given the oil market will still remain tight over the short-term,” Moya said.”
Note that on September 28, Brent crude price had reached a peak of $97.24 per barrel, a milestone not seen since November 2022.
This substantial price surge was underpinned by a notable surge in demand, coupled with a discernible reduction in the global crude oil supply.
It is important to underscore the instrumental role played by Saudi Arabia and Russia in driving this surge.
Both nations had previously declared oil production cuts slated to endure until the conclusion of 2023, with monthly evaluations to gauge the prevailing market conditions.