Oil prices continue to fall below 58 USD on recession and US supply worries

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil fell 3 percent to less than $ 58 a barrel on Thursday, extending the 3 percent drop recorded in the previous session under pressure from growing fears of a recession and the future. 39, a sudden increase in US crude stocks.

While investors feared that the US economy, the largest in the world, would enter a recession that would weigh on the demand for oil, the yield curve of the US Treasury reversed Wednesday for the first time since 2007.

Brent lost $ 1.81, or 3%, to $ 57.67 per barrel in 1117 GMT, down from $ 1.57 to $ 57.91.

US crude fell $ 1.03 to $ 54.20 a barrel.

Brent is still up 10% since the beginning of the year thanks to production cuts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and to allies such as Russia in the group known as OPEC +.

In July, OPEC + decided to extend reductions in oil production until March 2020 to support crude oil. On August 8, a Saudi official suggested that new measures could be taken: "Saudi Arabia is determined to do everything in its power to maintain the stability of the market next year".

OPEC efforts have, however, been overshadowed by worries over the global economy as a result of the US-China trade dispute and the uncertainty surrounding the secession of the Great West. Britain to the European Union, as well as rising crude oil inventories and American shale production.

"The market is very concerned about global growth," said Tamas Varga of PVM Oil Brokerage.

China released disappointing data for July, with industrial output growth at its lowest level in more than 17 years.

The decline in exports led to the recession of the German economy in the second quarter.

An unexpected increase in crude oil inventories in the United States for the second week adds to the pressure on oil prices.

Crude oil inventories rose 1.6 million barrels last week, while analysts forecast a drop of 2.8 million barrels, the US Energy Information Administration announced.