Oil futures: Crude retreats from earlier highs, Brent dips below $92/b
Quantum Commodity Intelligence - Crude oil futures Monday were a touch lower, having given up earlier gains as markets faced further volatility amid recessionary and demand uncertainty.
Front-month December ICE Brent futures were trading at $93.19/b (1630 GMT), compared to the intraday high of $94.27/b, a low of $91.21/b, and Friday's settle of $93.50/b.
"The market faces a period of uncertainty as it prepares for European sanctions on Russian oil to kick in as the OPEC+ alliance also reduces output," said ANZ commodity strategist Daniel Hynes.
Further expected sharp interest rate rises from the US Federal Reserve continue to weigh on sentiment, while little support came from China over the weekend.
The country's delayed third-quarter gross domestic product revelated the economy grew by 3.9% from a year ago. Although slightly beating expectations, the figure confirmed the broader slowdown and is well below the official target of a 5.5% growth rate.
China's Communist Party ended its 20th National Congress over the weekend with no signs of a significant change in Covid policy, which has hindered growth over the last two years.
However, China's oil imports and crude refining increased last month as refineries returned from seasonal maintenance, while exports of fuel products were up after quotas were lifted for the fourth quarter.
Growing concerns that the Fed still has some way to go before it's done with interest rate hikes and the widespread risk-off sentiment also weighed on oil prices.
"The vulnerability of oil prices is not merely a function of a recessionary outlook, which in itself is a function of monetary tightening. It is also a consequence of system deleveraging as the dash for cash becomes a bigger priority rather than what direction markets are moving," said Stephen Innes, managing partner SPI Asset Management.
Meanwhile, the UK's economic outlook has been downgraded from "stable" to "negative" by the rating agency Moody's because of political instability and high inflation.
Moody's said the change in outlook was driven by "heightened unpredictability in policymaking amid weaker growth prospects and high inflation" and "risks to the UK's debt affordability from likely higher borrowing and risk of a sustained weakening in policy credibility".
North American drilling activity ticked higher for the fifth time in six weeks during the week ending October 21, oilfield services firm Baker Hughes reported.
The total weekly rig count was up by two units to 771, with the number 229 higher from the 542 at the same time in 2021 and the highest volume since March 2020.
