Rising oil prices
Oil prices rose above $91 on international markets today after a possible loss of supply from Russia again put on the back burner fears that rising interest rates and China's lockdown measures will hurt demand.
The price of a barrel of oil this afternoon on the London market was higher by $2,29 compared to yesterday's close and amounted to $91,44. In the US, the barrel traded $2,45 higher at $85,99.
At the end of the week, traders focused on announcements by leading producers that they would reduce supply.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to stop oil and gas exports to Europe if Brussels limits the prices of Russian energy. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies decided to cut supply slightly in October.
The announcements of reduced supply overshadowed fears that raising interest rates in the euro zone, by three-quarters of a percentage point, the most since the European Central Bank took the helm of monetary policy, could limit demand.
Traders also briefly ignored China's strict epidemiological measures, which are reducing economic activity and undermining oil demand.
Yesterday, the city of Chengdu extended a quarantine for most of its more than 21 million residents, and millions of citizens in other parts of China have been told to avoid travel during the upcoming holidays.
OPEC announced separately that a barrel of its members' oil basket yesterday decreased by $3,29 to $92.