Oil prices fell close to 6% on Friday to a four-week low on concerns about an economic slowdown following interest rate hikes by major central banks.
The dollar’s rally has also put pressure on prices, with the currency rising this week to its highest level since December 2002 against a basket of currencies. This makes oil more expensive for buyers using other currencies.
Brent futures closed down 5.58% at $113.12 a barrel, while U.S. crude lost $8.03, or 6.83%, to $109.56.
That was the lowest close for Brent since May 20 and the lowest for WTI (traded in the US) since May 12. It was also the biggest daily percentage decline for Brent since early May and the biggest for WTI since late March.
Both contracts posted their first weekly decline in more than a month as concerns grew that interest rate hikes could trigger a recession.
Those fears helped put pressure on US gasoline futures, which fell 7%, with analysts worried that high gasoline prices would begin to affect demand for the fuel.
Auto group AAA said the price of diesel at the pump hit a record $5,798 a gallon on Friday, while the price of gasoline hit a record $5,016 earlier in the week.
(Additional reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin in London, Arathy Somasekhar in Houston and Jeslyn Lerh in Singapore)
Source: CNN Brasil

I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.