Oil Sea-saws on Recession And Demand Fears – 13 June, 2022

Oil prices bounced around in both positive and negative territory, hanging on despite recession fears and possible virus curbs in China that may dampen demand. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude eased 4 cents to $120.89 a barrel at 0156 GMT, while Brent crude futures dipped 6 cents to $122.21 a barrel. Supply tightness has been aggravated by a drop in exports from Libya amid a political crisis that has hit output and ports, while other producers in OPEC+ struggle to meet their production quotas and Russia faces bans on its oil over the war in Ukraine. On the demand side, the focus is on China, where a COVID outbreak at a bar in Beijing has raised fears of a new phase of lockdowns just as restrictions were being eased.