Oil prices decline amid cautious trading ahead of US inflation data

Oil prices have fallen, losing some significant gains from the previous two sessions, amid market caution ahead of the publication of inflation data for the US in April, which will be key to the Federal Reserve's next interest rate decision.

This is reported by Reuters.

Brent crude oil prices fell by 54 cents, or 0.7%, to $76.47 per barrel at 06:50 GMT, while the price of US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil dropped by 50 cents, or 0.7%, to $72.66 per barrel.

In the previous session, both contracts rose by more than 2%.

Analysts say that last week the Federal Reserve raised interest rates, which could be the last increase in the cycle of monetary policy tightening. The Fed dropped guidance about the need for future hikes, with inflationary pressure starting to ease.

Last month, US consumers said they expect slightly lower inflation, as evidenced by a Federal Reserve Bank of New York report published on Monday.

"If tomorrow's CPI data remains at around 5% by market consensus, and if the core CPI does not drop significantly, it will likely continue to support the rise in oil prices," said CMC Markets analyst Leon Li.

Last week, oil markets fell sharply, but on Friday and Monday, prices rose as fears of a recession in the US, the world's largest oil consumer, eased and some traders believe that the three-week decline in oil prices due to demand concerns was exaggerated.

Background. Mind previously reported that Saudi Arabia had lowered crude oil prices for clients in Asia.