Oil close to end 7-week gains due to China, US interest rate ‎fears

Oil is heading to end a 7-week winning streak today, Friday, due to concerns about demand growth in China with its slowing economy and in light of the possibility that US interest rates will remain at high levels for an extended period.

According to Reuters, there was little change in the two main benchmarks today, as West Texas Intermediate crude rose 10 cents, or 0.1%, to $80.49 a barrel, while Brent crude settled unchanged at $84.12 a barrel by 0205 GMT. ..

Oil prices are limited by the US Central Bank’s focus on containing inflation in light of stronger-than-expected economic data

US Department of Labor announced yesterday that the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits for the first time declined last week, indicating that the labor market, which is still witnessing a scarcity of employment, may prompt the US Central Bank to continue its campaign to tighten monetary policy.

The report came on the heels of other strong economic reports, including the US retail sales report, all of which indicated the possibility that the US central bank would stick to keeping interest rates high for a long time.

Concerns were exacerbated by a new set of Chinese data, which indicated that the economy of the world’s second largest oil consumer has been losing momentum rapidly since the second quarter.