A barrel of WTI oil fell to the price value of $68.7 per barrel.
World prices declined on concerns about the prospects for a recovery in demand for raw materials. Traders are concerned about the epidemiological situation. New strains of coronavirus are still spreading in the world, the incidence in a number of countries is still growing. This indicates a possible slowdown in the growth rate of oil demand. Against this background, there are also fears for the global economic recovery. On Friday, the US Department of Labor published data on unemployment in the country, which turned out to be weaker than analysts ' expectations, which signals a slowdown in economic activity. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is returning to a policy of discounts in the key Asian market as the recovery in oil demand slows down, and forecasts for next year promise a surplus of 2 million barrels per day. The most popular Saudi variety Arab Light in October will fall in price for Asian buyers by $1.3, or almost 2% — this is a record value for the year. Traders expected discounts from Saudi Arabia for Asia, but their scale exceeded all forecasts. Due to the high official prices for Saudi oil in the previous months, traders preferred to buy on the spot market instead of long-term contracts. But in the autumn, domestic demand in Saudi Arabia begins to weaken, and the country needs to export more barrels.
The forecast assumes a further decline in WTI oil to the levels of 68.5, 68.3 and 68 dollars per barrel.