LONDON: The price of the main international oil contract fell on Friday to its lowest level since March 2023 as concerns about sluggish global growth outweighed a decision by major Opec+ exporters to continue voluntary production cuts.

Around 1610 GMT, the price of a barrel of Brent crude had fallen 2.2 per cent to $71.07. The price of the main US contract, WTI, was down 2.3pc to $67.59 per barrel. For the week, Brent was on course to register a 9pc decline, while WTI was heading for a drop of around 8pc.

US government data on Friday showed employment increased less than expected in August, but a drop in the jobless rate to 4.2pc suggested an orderly labor market slowdown continued and probably did not warrant a big interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve this month.

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“The jobs report was a little soft and implied that the economy in the US is on the slide,” Bob Yawger, executive director of energy futures at Mizuho.

Concerns around Chinese demand also continued to pressure oil prices, Yawger said.

On Thursday, Brent settled at its lowest price since June 2023 despite a withdrawal from US oil inventories and a decision by Opec+ to delay planned oil output increases.

Published in Dawn, September 7th, 2024