Weighed down on profit-taking and Fed interest rate hike concerns, Brent crude oil prices fell to the 84 mark

On Thursday (January 13), U.
S.
oil fell 1.
14% to close at $81.
7 / barrel
.
A number of regional Fed presidents have claimed that they will raise interest rates many times this year, causing other risk assets such as crude oil and stock markets to fall.

However, the current pressure on supply has led to tightening global markets, leaving oil prices near near nearly two-month
highs.

Chicago Federal Chairman Evans said Thursday that if inflation doesn't improve fast enough, the Fed may need to raise rates four times in 2022
.
Because inflation remains high for longer, the Fed must act
faster than expected.
At the same time, the Fed Harker and Daly have expressed relatively hawkish views
.

John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital Management, said: "The US producer price inflation data is easily as high as last month, which could put pressure on the Fed to take control of the economy, which could drag on crude oil prices and support the dollar
.
" These factors are "somewhat worrying"
.
Rising jobless claims could further weaken gasoline demand
.
”

The IEA has said demand is stronger than expected, while the latest outlook from the U.
S.
Energy Information Administration suggests that global oil inventories are set to decline
this quarter.
Meanwhile, U.
S.
crude inventories have fallen to their lowest level
since 2018.
Analysts warn that low inventories could leave the crude oil market vulnerable to price spikes in the short term
.

Ed Moya, senior market analyst for Oanda's Americas operations, said the oil market will remain fairly tight with strong growth in the U.
S.
and overseas as demand continues to outpace supply
.
Optimism about the market's outlook is reflected in the market's bullish price structure, with near-term contracts remaining above
forward contracts.

Some investors delved deeper into Wednesday's report
by the U.
S.
Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Although crude inventories fell more than expected, the report also showed that refined product demand was hit
by Omicron.
Gasoline inventories surged 8 million barrels in the week ended Jan.
7, compared with analysts' expectations of a 2.
4 million barrel
increase.
However, there is speculation that Omicron will not be enough to derail the recovery in global demand, and cold weather in North America has limited the decline
in oil prices.

As the fast-spreading omicron swept across Asia, road traffic in Asia had decreased
at the start of the year.
However, Fitch said that while flight operation data is expected to be weak in the first quarter, the improvement in the Omicron epidemic is also laying the groundwork
for the easing of epidemic prevention measures and the resumption of flight travel in the coming quarters.