After its meeting, the Federal Reserve presented the outlook for monetary policy and surprised the markets with a plan to raise interest rates earlier. In response, the US dollar strengthened against a basket of other world currencies.
Thanks to the strengthening of the US dollar, the price of Brent crude oil on the global market fell by about three percent, falling from its two-year highs. Its decline stopped just above $72 a barrel and partially erased its losses in the later hours of Thursday’s trading. The price of North American WTI crude oil has also undergone a similar development.
However, according to analysts, this may only be a short-term fluctuation, as it is generally expected that the price of oil will be dominated by upward effects for the rest of the year. This is due to the continuing deterioration of anti-epidemic measures, as a result of which economic activity is reviving around the world. This increases the demand for oil.
Further growth in demand for oil is expected to come after the resumption of air traffic between the continents, which was interrupted last spring as one of the first measures against the spread of coronavirus. Demand is also expected to increase due to the start of the main motoring season, which consists mainly of the summer holidays.
