Oil prices have fallen below $95 a barrel for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine, as fears of an impending global recession grip commodity markets and batter forecasts for demand, according to a report published by the Financial Times.
Both major benchmarks for crude shed more than $5 a barrel on Thursday, or more than 5 percent, adding to a broad rout over the past six weeks.
Brent, the international benchmark, fell as low as $94.50 a barrel. It closed at $96.84 on February 23, the day before Russia invaded Ukraine.
US marker West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped to $90.56, below its close of $92.10 before the war.
According to the report, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-blown invasion of Ukraine caused prices to soar earlier this year, with both Brent and WTI briefly trading above $130 as western countries retaliated by imposing sanctions on Russia, one of the world’s biggest exporters.
However, recessionary jitters and the prospect of the US Federal Reserve stifling growth with more aggressive rises in interest rates have since called a halt to the rally.
Crude prices have dropped by around a fifth since mid-June as traders brace for a sharp drop-off in consumption.
