Oil price takes a hit from global stock market plunge, rise in US inventories
Trade tensions have been stoking fears over global growth needed to drive demand for energy, as US crude stockpiles keep rising
Tokyo — Oil fell near the lowest level in two months as a rout in US stocks prompted investors to flee risk assets and as US crude inventories continued to rise. Futures in New York dropped as much as 1.1% after a 0.6% gain on Wednesday. Asia’s main equity gauge entered a bear market after US stocks erased all of this year’s gains on Wednesday. While the stock-market rout spread to risk assets including oil and copper, safe-havens like gold gained. Meanwhile, a government report showed US crude stockpiles climbed more than expected for a fifth consecutive week. Oil is poised for the worst monthly decline since July 2016 as ongoing trade tensions stoke concerns over global growth that drives energy demand at a time when US crude stockpiles are increasing. Traders are also closely watching how much Iranian oil will be removed from the market by US sanctions and whether the Opec and its allies can fill the gap. “Sell-off in equity markets raised concerns over oil demand, contributing t...
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