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Oil prices drop amid multiple headwinds


By Xinhua
Published : 23 Apr 2022 09:01 PM | Updated : 23 Apr 2022 09:01 PM

Oil prices fell on Friday, pressured by multiple headwinds. The West Texas Intermediate for June delivery lost 1.72 U.S. dollars, or 1.7 percent, to settle at 102.07 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. 

 Brent crude for June delivery decreased 1.68 dollars, or 1.6 percent, to close at 106.65 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. 

 For the week, the U.S. crude standard and Brent dipped 4.1 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively, based on the front-month contracts. "One part of this has been played by concerns about demand," Carsten Fritsch, energy analyst at Commerzbank Research, said in a note on Friday.

 "Sharply rising bond yields, a firm U.S. dollar and falling stock markets are likewise generating headwind," he added.   Earlier this week, the International Monetary Fund slashed global growth forecast for 2022 to 3.6 percent, 0.8 percentage points lower than the January projection, rekindling market worries over the outlook for global fuel demand.  Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, has jumped recently, along with U.S. 

 Treasury yields, while equities came under pressure. Historically, the price of oil is inversely related to the price of the dollar.