On Tuesday morning, benchmark oil prices continued to decline after reaching three-week lows the day before. At the moment, the price of Brent dropped today to $89.56 per barrel, which is 1.07% lower than the closing level of the previous session. The current quote of the asset is $90.42. North American WTI crude oil shows similar dynamics: a local decline to $87.77 and a subsequent increase to $88.67 per barrel. The main negative factor affecting commodity markets on Monday was the strengthening of the dollar, caused by the news about the prevention of a shutdown in the United States. The ICE index, which reflects the dynamics of the dollar against six major world currencies, reached its highest since November last year. Additional pressure on the oil market is exerted by concerns about possible further rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. Analysts note that the current decline in oil prices is weakly related to fundamental factors and is due, rather, to the strengthening of the dollar and the increase in the yield of US government bonds. Moreover, technically oil is overbought, and the correction phase may have begun. Nevertheless, experts are confident that the potential for further growth in oil prices remains. This week, attention should be paid to the meeting of the OPEC+ Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), which is scheduled for Wednesday. It is expected that OPEC will recommend maintaining the current agreements on reducing oil production. And this may provide some support to oil prices.
