Global oil prices on March 16 morning declined on expectations of a possible continuation of the growth of its stocks in the US and a decrease in demand in Europe, according to trading data, Report informs referring to Prime.
As of 8:20 a.m. (Baku time), the price of May futures for North Sea Brent crude oil blend decreased by 0.83 percent to $68.31, April futures for WTI dropped by 0.81 percent, to $64.86 per barrel.
Expectations for an increase in US oil inventories were triggered by severe cold weather in February, when many refineries had to suspend operations. Analysts expect the increase of these reserves over the past week by 2.7 million barrels after growing by 13.8 million over the previous seven days.
Moreover, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced that it is investigating incidents with patients who received the jab from the same batch of AstraZeneca vaccine in several EU countries and who later had complications. A number of EU countries, including Austria, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Denmark, Bulgaria, Norway, Iceland, Slovenia, Cyprus, Italy, France, Germany and Spain, have suspended the use of this vaccine.
The measures have heightened market concerns about the slow pace of vaccinations, which could delay the recovery of the European economy from the coronavirus and impede a rebound in oil demand.