Oil prices dropped by 1.5% on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) predicted further interest rate increases this year. Brent crude futures closed down by 1.5%, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell by 1.7%.
Both benchmarks had risen over 1.5% earlier in the session and increased by more than 3% in the previous session amid expectations of higher fuel demand following the Chinese central bank's reduction of the short-term lending rate.
The US central bank kept interest rates unchanged but indicated in its new economic forecasts that "borrowing costs are likely to rise by another half percentage point by the end of this year, given a stronger-than-expected economy and a slower decline in inflation."
