Last Friday, oil prices collapsed from the area of $121 to the level of $112 per barrel amid market fears that the rapid tightening of policy by the US Federal Reserve will trigger a recession in the US economy. At the beginning of the new trading week, the oil market stabilized in the area of local lows. The current quotation of Brent crude oil is $112.86 per barrel, WTI oil is trading at $107.83 per barrel. In total, at the end of last week, Brent fell by 7.3%, and WTI – by 9.2%. Before that, Brent showed growth for four weeks in a row, and North American oil – for seven weeks. Experts and market participants fear that global economic growth will slow down significantly over the coming months, which will also have a negative impact on demand prospects. Additional pressure on the oil market is exerted by the strengthening of the US dollar, as well as signals of Russia's increase in production and exports. According to the latest data, China imported a record 8.42 million tons of Russian oil last month – 55% more than a year earlier. However, currently there is also a factor that will support the oil market in the near future – the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. And as long as it continues, the problem of reducing the supply of oil on the world market will remain, experts say.
