Oil Plunges to 2-Week Low on Ukraine Talks and China’s Slower Demand

Oil prices fell to a two-week low on Tuesday after data showed China’s economy growing at its slowest pace in 24 years due to Covid-19 surging cases and an optimistic round 4 peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, easing the fears of further supply disruptions.

Brent crude oil was down -0.72% at $97.42 a barrel by 12:02 GMT, having earlier fallen to $95.71, its lowest since February 28, while WTI was down by -0.70% at $95.34 per barrel. Both benchmarks tumbled by more than 5% on Monday.

Crude oil prices have pulled back from a new multi-year high reached last week, extending into a second week. Prices had rallied around $130 last week, but have since retreated and dived by 34% per barrel. The pullback comes amidst concerns about the potential for global economic growth to slow in the face of higher energy costs. Nevertheless, crude oil prices remain up sharply from their lows earlier this year and continue to be driven by strong demand fundamentals. Analysts remain bullish on crude oil in the long term, with most expecting it to reach $140 per barrel by the end of the year. In the short term, however, traders will be closely watching economic data for clues on when the price rally may resume.