Brent Oil Cruised Above $69 a Barrel on August 16

Brent oil cruised above $69 a barrel on August 16. Today, a barrel of Brent oil is priced at $69.65 in global markets.

Brent oil, which went up to $ 71.38 on Friday, finished the day at $ 70.59. The barrel of Brent oil, which decreased by 1.33 percent compared to the closing at 09:07 am today, is trading at $ 69.65. At the same time, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil was traded at $67.14 a barrel. Restrictions implemented along with the increasing number of coronavirus (Covid-19) cases in Asian countries and shrinking economic activity played a role in the decline in oil prices. The country's industrial output rose 6.4 percent in July compared to the same period of the previous year, according to data from China's National Bureau of Statistics released on Monday. The slowdown in industrial production, which increased by 8.3 percent in June, has a negative impact on oil prices. The decrease in retail sales in China, one of the world's largest economies, compared to June is interpreted as the Covid-19 restrictions starting to show their effect on the country's economy. The International Energy Agency, which published its oil market report for July last week, noted that the global oil demand, which had been on an upward trend during the year, started to slow down and this trend would continue for the second half of the year due to the increasing number of cases. The agency expects global oil demand for this year to drop by 300,000 barrels to 96 million 150 thousand barrels. In technical terms, it is stated that the range of $69.86 to $70.01 can be viewed as resistance and the range of $69.59 to $69.47 as support in Brent oil.