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BoE raises interest rates, warns of recession risks Saudi Arabia, UAE save oil in case of winter supply crisis OPEC+ agrees to raise oil production target by 100,000 bpd Tight global supply offers price support – analysts

LONDON/NEW YORK, Aug 4 (Reuters) – Global oil prices fell on Thursday to their lowest since before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, as traders worried about the possibility of an economic slowdown later this year that could torpedo the energy demand. Brent crude futures fell $2.66, or 2.75%, to $94.12, the lowest close since Feb. 18. Falling oil prices could provide relief to major consumer countries, including the United States and European countries, which have been urging producers to increase production to offset tight supplies and fight raging inflation. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Oil had soared to well above $120 a barrel earlier in the year. A sudden recovery in demand since the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic has coincided with supply disruptions caused by sanctions against major producer Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Thursday’s selloff followed an unexpected rise in U.S. crude inventories last week. Gasoline inventories, a gauge of demand, also showed a surprise increase as demand slowed under the weight of gasoline prices near $5 a gallon, the Energy Information Administration said. read more “It appears that weakness since Wednesday following weaker-than-expected implied US gasoline demand, along with Thursday’s breaking of technical support levels, has dragged oil lower,” said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS. The demand outlook remains clouded by growing concerns about an economic recession in the United States and Europe, debt tightness in emerging market economies and a strict zero-tolerance COVID-19 policy in China, the world’s largest oil importer. “A break below $90 is now a very real possibility, which is quite remarkable given how tight the market remains and how little room there is to relieve that,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda in London . “But talk of a recession is getting louder and if it does come true, it will likely address some of the imbalance.” The Bank of England (BoE) raised interest rates on Thursday and warned of recession risks. OPEC+’s agreement on Wednesday to raise its production target by 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) in September, equivalent to 0.1% of global demand, was seen by some analysts as bearish for the market. read more OPEC countries, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are also ready to offer a “significant increase” in oil output if the world faces a severe supply crunch this winter, sources familiar with the thinking of top Gulf exporters said. read more Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Additional reporting by Laura Sanicola, Richard Valdmanis and Emily Chow. Edited by Bernadette Baum and Kirsten Donovan Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.