The price of West Texas Intermediate crude fell below $55 per barrel for the first time since February 2021, in the latest sign that oil supplies are exceeding demand, at a time when the market is preparing for a large oversupply.
Oil prices decline
Earlier in the session, the price of Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell below $60 a barrel for the first time since May.
Oil prices fell this year due to expectations of a surplus, driven by a wave of new supplies from the OPEC+ alliance and countries in the Americas, along with weak growth in demand.
In recent days, new hopes for reaching an agreement to end Russia’s war in Ukraine have contributed to reducing a long-term geopolitical premium that had been added to oil prices.
At the same time, signs of weakness are increasing across the oil market, with Middle East crude oil prices entering a pattern Bearish early Tuesday.
High premiums for fuels such as petrol and diesel compared to crude oil, which had supported prices last month, also declined.
