WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil prices fell sharply on Monday amid rising worries over a U.S. banking debacle following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
Although the Biden administration has assured that there won't be a relapse of the financial crisis from 15 years ago, the mood in global stock markets remained quite bearish today.
The U.S. Treasury, Federal Reserve, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said they would 'fully protect' depositors, including those with assets above the federally guaranteed $250,000 limit.
Hopes about a pick-up in energy demand in China helped a bit in limiting the downside in oil prices.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures settled with a loss of $1.88 or about 2.4% at $74.80 a barrel, about 2% up from the day's close of $72.33 a barrel.
Brent crude futures were down $2.40 or 2.88% at $80.38 a barrel a little while ago.
The focus is on Tuesday's U.S. inflation data and Thursday's ECB meeting. The central bank is all set to raise interest rates by another 50 basis points at the meeting.
The Federal Reserve's policy meeting is scheduled to be held on March 21-11, while the Bank of England meets a day after the FOMC meeting on March 23.
Goldman Sachs analysts said they no longer expect the Federal Reserve to raise rates by 25 basis points at its next policy meeting on March 21-22.
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