On August 3, the international oil price continued to fall. The settlement price of the main contract in the U.S. WTI crude oil futures market was US $70.56/barrel, down US $0.70 or 0.98%, and the settlement price of the main contract in the Brent crude oil futures market was US $72.41/barrel, down US $0.48 or 0.66%.

Oil prices fell for two consecutive days. On the 3rd, WTI once fell below the $70 mark. WTI fell by 4.58% and Brent fell by nearly 4% in the past two trading days. Oil prices have hit nearly two-week lows. Previously, the economic data recently released by major economies did not perform well. What is more important is that the market’s concern about the slowdown in demand caused by delta virus has been further amplified, as well as the concern about the oversupply caused by the increase of production in oil producing countries.

At the macro level, the global economy is still recovering under the background of the epidemic, but the recently released Sino US economic data show that the economy is slowing down, and the market is worried about the future energy demand.

At present, the epidemic is still the main constraint on the driving force of economic recovery. The spread of delta virus, the resumption of blockade and restriction measures by some economies and countries, including the increase of epidemic prevention measures in some regions of China, undoubtedly further depresses fuel demand.

At the same time, when the prospect of crude oil demand is confused, oil producing countries led by Saudi Arabia and Russia began to increase production. It is reported that the organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC +) significantly increased oil production in July. Under the combined influence of increased supply and slowing demand, the decline in oil prices further deepened.

In addition, from the recently released inventory data, API crude oil inventory in the United States recorded a decrease of 879000 barrels in the week to July 30, far lower than the expected decrease of 1.4 million barrels, compared with the previous value of 4.278 million barrels. It can be seen that the driving season in North America is not strong enough, and there are signs of further slowdown in demand.

In the future, the business society believes that the recent oil price is still in a short market atmosphere, and the fear of oversupply caused by the increase in production of oil producing countries lingers. The latest ministerial meeting was also held on September 1. Before that, the market supply was still negative. In addition, the threat of delta virus to the global economy is also difficult to contact in the short term. Therefore, it is expected that oil prices will not perform well in the near future.