Crude set for worst week since pandemic, gas prices at 32-month low

Oil prices have slipped to a 15-month low, the lowest level seen since December 2021. US Crude, better known as WTI hit an intra-day low of $65.27 while Brent slipped 4 percent to a level around $71.50. It would be the worst week for crude since the pandemic with both Nymex and Brent down in the range of 12-14 percent for the week.

As per analysts, the banking crisis that emerged out of Silicon Valley Bank has forced investors to take a more conservative view of likely demand growth this year. This is despite a positive economic outlook for this year from Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The Paris-based organisation has raised the global growth forecast to 2.6 percent from the earlier estimate of 2.2 percent, citing a fall in energy prices and China's easing of its COVID restrictions.

The news of the International Energy Agency increasing its Russian supply estimate by 300 million barrels a day and US inventories reaching an 18-month high is likely to have weighed on the sentiment of market participants too.

International gas prices too have been trading in-line with crude. In Friday’s session, US natural gas prices have slipped to the lowest levels since July 2020. It is currently at $2.39/mmBtu, down 5 percent.