Oil ticks up on correction, on track for weekly loss on recession fears

Oil prices edged higher on Friday but were on track for a weekly decline amid fears of sharp interest rate hikes that would slam global growth and hit fuel demand. Brent crude futures were up 24 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to $91.08 a barrel as of 0315 GMT, but were down 1.9pc for the week so far. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 10 cents, or 0.1pc, to $85.20 a barrel, but were also down 1.9pc on a weekly basis. “Today’s morning rebound for oil prices can only be described as a short-term correction, as the Fed will raise interest rates by 75bp or 100bp next week,” said Leon Li, an analyst at CMC Markets. “Although the probability of a 100 bp rate hike is relatively small, it would bring uncertainty to market sentiment. So there is still a risk that oil prices could drop lower next week.” Both benchmarks are headed for a third consecutive weekly loss, hurt partly by a strong US dollar, which makes oil more expensive for buyers using other currencies. The dollar index ticked down on Friday but held near last week’s high above 110.