Crude prices recorded declines in the middle of the European session trading today, Wednesday, March 8th, in declines for the second session in a row, after losing more than 3% yesterday, Tuesday, affected by the rises of the US dollar after Jerome Powell’s statements, amid anticipation in the markets for US stock numbers today, as Brent crude is trading at Levels of $83.17 per barrel, a return of 0.14%, while US crude (NYMEX) is declining by about 0.32%, and is trading at levels of $77.33 per barrel.

US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell confirmed in his testimony before Congress on Tuesday that the Fed is committed to returning inflation to its 2% target, and that interest rates are likely to be higher than previously expected, putting pressure on commodity markets, primarily crude.

The report of the American Petroleum Institute showed in the preliminary reading of inventories issued yesterday, Tuesday, that US inventories declined in the past week, ending on the third of March, by 3.8 million barrels. In details, gasoline stocks increased by about 1.8 million barrels, and stocks of distillate products, which include heating fuel and diesel, rose by about 1.9 million barrels.

During today’s American session, the markets are awaiting official figures from the US Energy Information Administration, as estimates indicate an increase in inventories by about 700,000 barrels last week.

On the other hand, the Secretary General of OPEC indicated in his statements on the sidelines of the activities of the CERA Week Energy Conference in the United States of America that the organization expects the Chinese demand for oil to grow by between 500-600 thousand barrels this year and expects the global demand for oil to grow by 2.3 million. barrels this year.