Oil prices slip amid demand concerns

By Zeynep Beyza Kilic

ANKARA (AA) - Oil prices retreated on Thursday over demand concerns following the US Federal Reserve’s rate hike and a strengthening dollar.

International benchmark Brent crude traded at $82.16 per barrel at 09.24 a.m. local time (0624GMT), a 0.65% decrease from Wednesday’s closing price of $82.7.

The American benchmark West Texas Intermediate was at $76.66 per barrel, a fall of 0.80% from the previous session’s $77.28.

As expected, the US Fed hiked its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points on Wednesday, raising the target range to between 4.25% and 4.5%, the highest in 15 years.

In his remarks, Chair Jerome Powell indicated that the Fed “will stay on the course (of lowering inflation) until the job is done.”

“It is not important how fast we go. It is far more important to think what is the ultimate level,” he said, leaving the door open for more rate hikes next year.

The rising value of the US dollar also weighed on oil prices, discouraging traders from using other currencies and also fueling fears of weak demand.

US commercial crude oil inventories were up 2.5% during the week ending Dec. 9, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration late on Wednesday.

Inventories rose by around 10.2 million barrels to 424.1 million barrels, despite a market expectation of a decrease of around 3.9 million barrels.​​​​​​​