More and more economists believe that the global economy is heading towards recession at full speed. On Friday, crude oil prices were hit by fears of a huge recession, with crude falling nearly 6% to an 8-month low on Friday. US crude oil and petrol prices fell on Friday.

A rally in the dollar to a 20-year high pushed energy prices down with it. Commodity traders fear another sharp hike in global interest rates. In addition, the slowdown in global stock markets undermined confidence in the economic outlook and had a very negative impact on (expected) energy demand, say analysts.

There are fears that aggressive tightening by global central banks will slow economic growth and reduce energy demand. Crude oil prices fall.

A sharp fall in US fuel demand also had a negative impact on crude oil prices. The US distillate’s four-week average, a measure of diesel demand, fell for a second week below 2020 coronavirus levels in the week ended September 16. US gasoline demand also fell to its lowest level since 1997, analysts in the US report.

In addition, there is a weakness in global air traffic, which is reducing demand for aviation fuel (kerosene) and negatively impacting crude oil prices.