Oil prices decreased on Thursday, relinquishing some gains from the previous session as investors took profits amid fears that another interest rate hike could lead to a slowdown in economic growth and global oil demand. Brent crude futures fell by 27 cents, or 0.4%, to $73.76 per barrel by 00:52 GMT. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures lost 21 cents, or 0.3%, settling at $69.35 per barrel.
Both benchmarks rose nearly 3% on Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that crude inventories fell by 9.6 million barrels during the week ended June 23, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll, which had projected a decline of 1.8 million barrels.
Hiroyuki Kikukawa, head of NS Trading, which belongs to Nissan Securities, stated, "The market shifted direction due to renewed concerns about further interest rate hikes in the U.S. and Europe, which will reduce global oil demand."
Leaders of the world's largest central banks reiterated on Wednesday their belief that further tightening of monetary policy will be needed to tame rampant inflation, but they expressed confidence that they can do so without triggering a recession.
