Oil prices are mixed due to the uncertainty regarding the demand outlook of the USA, the world’s largest oil consumer.
Despite the ultra-hawkish steps taken within the scope of the fight against inflation in the USA, the failure to achieve the desired results brought further interest rate hikes to the agenda.
In his speech yesterday, US Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell stated that the latest economic data came stronger than expected, indicating that the final level of interest rates may be higher than expected.
This situation led to concerns that oil demand in the USA would be adversely affected, and this put downward pressure on prices.
On the other hand, the American Petroleum Institute announced that the country’s crude oil stocks were forecast to decrease by 3 million 835 thousand barrels last week compared to the previous week. The market expectation was that it would decrease by 308 thousand barrels.
The forecast for a decrease in inventories supported prices upwards, with the perception that demand was high in the country.
Official stock data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration will be released today.
It is emphasized that technically, the range of 83.56 to 83.91 dollars in Brent oil can be viewed as a resistance and the range of 83.21 to 82.86 dollars as a support zone.