Oil flat as recession fears outweigh supply cuts
Cautious remarks by the US Fed, plus poor manufacturing data from Germany, are spooking global markets
London — Oil prices were steady on Monday, with concerns of a sharp economic slowdown competing with support from tighter supply due to Opec’s production cutbacks and US sanctions on Iran and Venezuela. Brent crude oil futures were down 7c, or 0.1%, at $66.96 a barrel at 9.55am GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were unchanged at $59.04 a barrel. Both crude oil price benchmarks closed down on the week since briefly hitting their highest since November 2018. Concerns about a potential US recession emerged Friday after cautious remarks by the US Federal Reserve caused 10-year treasury yields to slip below the three-month rate for the first time since 2007. Historically, an inverted yield curve — where long-term rates fall below short-term — has signalled an upcoming recession.
“Oil prices are under pressure due to a combination of recession fears and gloomy market sentiment,” Commerzbank said. “Oil market-specific reports, which point to tighter supply, are prev...
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