The oil market is again showing a decline, even despite fresh data on changes in fuel reserves in the United States. A report from the country's Energy Ministry showed that oil reserves decreased by 4.58 million barrels last week, while analysts expected a reduction of only 400 thousand barrels. At the same time, gasoline reserves increased by 1.3 million barrels, distillates decreased by 355 thousand barrels. Analysts predicted a reduction in the first indicator by 1.6 million barrels, the second – by 600 thousand barrels. The current price of Brent oil is $82.13 per barrel. The asset dropped from the $87 area in which oil was traded last week. The North American WTI variety settled near the level of $78.25 after rising to $83 last week. Pressure on the market is exerted by fears that high interest rates of central banks may have a negative impact on the growth rate of the global economy and fuel demand. The US Federal Reserve is expected to raise the benchmark rate by 25 basis points in May, and the European Central Bank will hold three more hikes in the next few months. Analysts also note that the Asian market is weakening, as large quantities of oil from Russia continue to arrive in the region that is not experiencing a shortage, and refineries are thinking about reducing the volume of oil refining against the background of a decrease in the marginality of this process.
