— Record fall of oil prices in Tuesday’s trades was largely related to lockdowns in the main consumer nation, China, that also fueled market jitters emanating from the war in Ukraine.

The crude prices on Monday fell to USD 73 per barrel, the lowest level since December, while the Brent crude settled at USD 80 pb, the lowest since January.

Khaled Boudai, an oil expert at Al-Ofoq consultancy center, told KUNA that the decline of the crude prices was related to receding jitters over prospects of expanding the Russia-Ukraine war, noting that recent Ukraine troops’ advance on the battlefields led to lower enthusiasm on Moscow’s part to press ahead with the military campaign.

A near end to the war will taper off market tensions and cause decline in the oil demand, Boudai added.

Dr. Mubarak Al-Hajeri, an energy expert, said that the oil prices fall is result of China’s lockdowns related to the re-emergence of the coronavirus.

The record decrease of the crude rates came contrary to predictions that the prices will hit as high as USD 150 pb, largely due to this war.

The lockdowns and the subsequent protests in China caused skepticisms whether the China economy would recover, said Al-Hajeri, indicating that these factors proved much more influential than the market basic factors, supply and demand.

Al-Hajeri expressed his belief that the prices may rebound once China has lifted the coronavirus constraints.

Source: Kuwait News Agency