Oil prices fell on Monday following a downgrade of the United States' sovereign credit rating by Moody’s and official data showing a slowdown in industrial output and retail sales in China.
اضافة اعلان
As of 09:55 Moscow time, futures for U.S. crude West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for June delivery were trading at $61.98 per barrel, down 0.82% from the previous settlement.
Meanwhile, futures for the global benchmark Brent crude were trading at $64.87 per barrel, marking a 0.83% decrease from the previous closing price.
Last week, both benchmarks had risen by more than 1% after the U.S. and China agreed to a temporary 90-day truce in their trade war and made significant tariff cuts on imports.
Priyanka Sachdeva, a senior market analyst at Phillip Nova, stated that Moody’s downgrade raises questions about the outlook for the U.S. economy, while the Chinese data points to a bumpy road ahead for any potential economic recovery.
She added that although Moody’s downgrade may not directly impact oil demand, it creates a more cautious sentiment in the market.
On Friday, Moody’s downgraded the United States’ sovereign credit rating due to the country’s mounting debt, which has reached $36 trillion—a move that may complicate President Donald Trump’s efforts to reduce taxes.
In China, official data showed that industrial output growth slowed in April, though the results were still better than economists had forecast.
— Bloomberg
