Brent crude oil is falling in price on Tuesday after a rise the day before, while WTI, which was not traded on Monday, is stable.

The oil market has remained in a narrow price range of around $11/bbl since early 2023. On the one hand, expectations of increased demand in China after the lifting of quarantine restrictions and fears of supply reduction on the market due to the reduction of production by Russia support it. On the other hand – the market fears the weakening of the U.S. economy amid tighter monetary policy by the Federal Reserve (Fed), notes Bloomberg.

An important event for Brent that is getting cheaper this week is the publication of the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last meeting, at which the benchmark interest rate was raised by 25 basis points.

“Any hawkish signals in the Fed meeting minutes will be a catalyst for lower oil prices,” notes IG Asia Pte Ltd. analyst Yep June Rong. The market, according to him, is trying to go up amid improving prospects for supply due to the economic recovery in China.

Also, experts see signals of increased demand in India: refinery workload in the country in January rose to its maximum level for five years, notes Bloomberg.

The cost of April futures for Brent crude oil on London’s CE Futures exchange by 8:18 Moscow time on Tuesday is $83.07 per barrel, which is $1 (1.19%) lower than the price at the close of the previous session. On Monday, those contracts rose by $1.07 (1.3%) to $84.07 a barrel.

The price of WTI futures for April oil grew by $0.03 (0.04%) to $76.58 per barrel at electronic trades on New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) by that time. There were no major trades on the NYMEX on Monday due to a holiday in the U.S. (Presidents’ Day).

March contracts, which expire at the close of Tuesday’s session, are stable at $76.34 a barrel.

We previously reported that Saudi Arabia received an “unanticipated” $326 billion in oil revenues in 2022.