Investors remain concerned that restrictive US monetary policy could herald a recession, and oil has been dragged lower alongside other commodities. Two of the Federal Reserve’s most hawkish policy makers, Christopher Waller and James Bullard, backed raising interest rates by another 75 basis points this month to curb red-hot inflation, while also playing down concerns of a slump.
Oil is set for a weekly loss after choppy trading in which concerns over a demand-sapping slump clashed with signals of tight supply.
West Texas Intermediate eased toward US$102 a barrel, putting the US benchmark on course for a weekly fall of almost 6%. Prices have swung in a range of more than US$16 this week, which saw both WTI and Brent briefly drop below US$100.
