The Worst Week Of The Year So Far For Oil Prices
By Irina Slav - Mar 17, 2023, 2:50 AM CDT
Oil prices are set to close out their worst week of the year so far, falling more than 10% on fears of a banking sector collapse.
The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last Friday sparked fears of contagion across the U.S., which then spread to Europe with Credit Suisse’s liquidity troubles.
Oil prices settled 1% higher on Thursday following news that Russia and Saudi Arabia had met to discuss market stability, although traders remain cautious.
As of Friday morning, West Texas Intermediate was down by about 10% for the week. Brent crude was also down considerably, dropping from $83 per barrel on Monday to less than $76 per barrel at the time of writing.
The rout began early in the week, after last Friday’s collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. The subsequent demise of Signature Bank added fuel to fears of an impending meltdown in finance, and news of liquidity troubles at Credit Suisse, one of the world’s largest lenders, did not help.
The flood of bad banking news continued throughout the week despite assurances from President Biden and Treasury Secretary Yellen that the U.S. banking system was sound and safe.
p.s. I’ll grab the charts mentioned in the headline and take my time adding them here this morning with my fave edit button on the internet:
