Oil gives up recent gains, falls 1%

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices came under pressure today, Sept. 29, giving up gains of the previous session amid demand concerns as fears of global economic downturn intensified.

Brent crude fell 1.02% to $88.41 a barrel, at 9:12 am Makkah time, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was down 0.94% at $81.38 a barrel.

Goldman Sachs cut its 2023 oil price forecast citing expectations of weak demand and a stronger US dollar, but noted that global supply shortages are likely to bolster the long-term bullish outlook.

In a note Sept. 28, Citigroup economists lowered their forecast for China's gross domestic product from 5% on an annual basis to 4.6% for Q4 2022, citing the impact of the strict Zero-COVID policy and a weak real estate sector.

Meanwhile, supply fears escalated with about a third of oil refining operations in France being suspended or affected after the Total Energies platform -- the country's largest oil refining platform -- the announced the suspension of its operations, due to the strike of employees demanding higher wages.