Oil prices fall for a second day on concerns for expected recession

Oil prices fell for a second day on Monday on fears of lower fuel demand from an expected global recession sparked by rising worldwide interest rates and as a surging U.S. dollar limits the ability of non-dollar consumers to purchase crude, Reuters reported.
Brent crude futures for November settlement slipped $1.35, or 1.57%, to $84.80 a barrel at 0640 GMT. The contract fell to as low at $84.51, the lowest since Jan. 14.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for November delivery dropped $1.15, or 1.46%, to $77.59 a barrel. WTI declined to as low as $77.21, the lowest since Jan. 6.
Both contracts slumped around 5% on Friday.
The dollar index that measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies climbed to a 20-year high on Monday.
A stronger greenback tends to curtail demand for dollar-denominated oil since buyers using other currencies must spend more to buy crude.
Central banks in numerous oil-consuming countries, including the United States, the world’s biggest crude user, have raised interest rates to fight surging inflation which has led to concerns the tightening could trigger an economic slowdown.
“A backdrop of global monetary policy tightening by the key central banks to quell elevated inflation, and a splendid run-up in the greenback towards more than two-decade highs has raised concerns about an economic slowdown and is acting as a key headwind for crude prices,” said Sugandha Sachdeva, vice president of commodity research at Religare Broking.