Oil falls more than 1% amid recession fears

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices edged lower today, June 23, as recession concerns persisted with major economies opting for tighter monetary policies.

International benchmark Brent crude fell 1.07% to $110.54 per barrel, at 9:11 am GMT.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude declined 1.32% to $104.79 a barrel.

US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank was not trying to engineer a recession to stop inflation but was fully committed to bringing prices under control.

US President Joe Biden, meanwhile, called on Congress to pass a three-month suspension of the federal gasoline tax to help combat record fuel prices.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said on June 22 that the country was in the process of rerouting its trade and oil exports towards countries from the BRICS group of emerging economies in the wake of Western sanctions over Ukraine.