MUSCAT/WASHINGTON: Oman oil price for August delivery on Thursday reached $118.85, comprising a rise by $2.39 from the price of Wednesday, which was $116.46.
The average price of Oman oil for June delivery has stabilised at $102.40, thus $8.56 per barrel lower than May delivery.
Meanwhile, Asian markets fell as a rally in oil ramped up inflation fears, with top officials warning of more pain to come as the Ukraine war continues to push prices up and put further pressure on the global economy.
Buyers on Wall Street were in retreat again after data showed US crude and gasoline stockpiles sank, just as the summer driving season begins and leading Opec member demand would surge further as China reopens.
Adding to the gloom was the OECD’s sharp downward revision of its global growth outlook and doubling of its inflation forecast. The glum mood was only slightly offset by ongoing optimism that Beijing’s tech crackdown was close to an end.
The IMF expects to once again cut its forecast for world growth this year amid a continued deterioration of conditions in the global economy, a fund official said on Thursday.
WORLD GROWTH
“So much has happened and (is) happening very quickly,” IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice told reporters, including the ongoing war in Ukraine, accelerating inflation and a steeper-than-expected slowdown in China.
The fund in April cut the 2022 GDP estimate to 3.6 per cent from 4.4 per cent, but now “we’re seeing this confluence of crises… that could lead us to revise down further,” he said. “We see the global economy headed into a growth slowdown,” Rice said, adding that “a number of countries may be looking at recession.”
The World Bank on Tuesday slashed its projection by more than a point to 2.9 per cent, and warned that the United States
faces a worrisome return of 1970s-style “stagflation” with tepid growth, high joblessness and surging prices. — Agencies