Oil prices continue to fall

Oil prices fell again on Wednesday. Compared to the previous days, the price decline in the morning was limited.

A barrel (159 liters) of North Sea Brent for delivery in December cost 87.90 US dollars (82.92 euros) in early trading. That was 17 cents less than the day before. The price for a barrel of the American variety West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell by 20 cents to 83.54 dollars (78.82 euros).

Since last Friday, crude oil from the North Sea has now fallen in price by more than five dollars per barrel. One of the reasons for the fall in crude oil prices is the delay in Israel’s ground offensive in the war against the Islamist Hamas and the hope that diplomatic efforts can prevent the conflict from spreading to other countries in the Middle East.

However, oil prices in the morning were supported by the recent development of oil reserves in the USA. The evening before it became known that the American Petroleum Institute (API) had recorded a decline in crude oil inventories by 2.67 million barrels in the previous week. Official inventory data from the US government is expected in the afternoon, which could provide new impetus for the oil market. Falling US oil reserves usually boost oil prices.