Crude Oil Move Sharply Lower, Extending Losing Streak To Four Days

(RTTNews) - Extending its recent losing streak to four days, the price of crude oil moved sharply lower during trading on Friday.

After edging down $0.10 or 0.1 percent to $78.49 a barrel on Thursday, crude for March delivery tumbled $2.15 or 2.7 percent to $76.34 a barrel. With the steep drop, oil plunged by 4.2 percent for the week.

The continued weakness among oil prices reflected concerns about the outlook for interest rates following recent U.S. economic data and comments from Federal Reserve officials.

Traders expressed concerns about the impact the Fed raising rates higher than currently anticipated will have on energy demand.

Worries about supply also weighed on oil prices following recent U.S. inventory data and a report from the Vedomosti newspaper suggesting Russian oil producers expect to maintain current volumes of crude oil exports.

"Crude prices are falling as supplies are plentiful and as global growth concerns return as the Fed and ECB seem poised to take interest rates even further into restrictive territory," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.

He added, "The belief that OPEC+ can keep prices supported wherever they want is waning as global growth outlooks take a turn for the worse."