Oil slips further below $60 on recession concerns, US supply
Oil slipped further below $60 a barrel on Thursday, extending the previous session’s 3% drop, pressured by mounting recession concerns and a surprise boost in U.S. crude inventories. In a sign of investor concern that the world’s biggest economy could be heading for recession, weighing on oil demand, the U.S. Treasury bond yield curve inverted on Wednesday for the first time since 2007.
Brent crude was down 20 cents at $59.28 a barrel by 0840 GMT, after a 3% slide on Wednesday. U.S. crude was down 11 cents to $55.12 a barrel. “The market is becoming very anxious about global growth,” said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM.
The price of Brent is still up 10 percent this year thanks to supply cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia. Traders say they expect top exporter Saudi Arabia to reduce output further.
