Oil Slides Further As Demand Worries Grow — But US Officials Prepare For Possible Price Surge By Year-End

Oil fell on Friday dragged by demand concerns, increasing stockpiles, and the likelihood of the Biden administration making a fresh release from emergency reserves.

As central banks continue to implement their aggressive rate hikes, demand concerns from China are taking precedence. On Thursday, the European Central Bank implemented an unprecedented 75 basis points rate hike while U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell asserted the central bank was determined to curb prices.

U.S. Inventories: U.S. crude stockpiles rose by 8.8 million barrels last week due to a combination of increased imports and ongoing releases from government emergency reserves, reported Reuters citing the Energy Information Administration.

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Price Action: West Texas Intermediate futures were down 0.16% at $83.41/barrel.

The United States Brent Oil Fund BNO closed 0.87% higher while the Vanguard Energy Index Fund ETF VDE traded over 0.59% higher.

Tapping Reserves: Despite the current downward trend in prices, U.S. officials are considering ways to tackle a potential increase in oil prices towards the end of the year, which includes tapping the strategic crude reserves. 

Officials are warning of a spike in prices this December when EU sanctions on Russian supplies bear effect unless other steps are taken, reported Bloomberg.