OREANDA-NEWS Brent oil prices have fallen to $119.2 per barrel on Friday, June 17. The decline is observed for the first time since April amid growing fears of a slowdown in global economic growth and demand for oil. This is happening due to the tightening of monetary policy by world central banks.

On Wednesday, the Central Bank of the US raised the rate by 75 basis points at once. Thus, this is the highest rate since 1994. The Central Bank's Chairman Jerome Powell said that the Fed needs to bring the rate to a level that limits economic activity in order to ease inflation. The central banks of Great Britain and Switzerland have also raised their rates this week.

On Friday, the cost of August futures for Brent oil is $119.2 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. This is $0.61 (0.51%) lower than the closing price of the previous session. As a result of trading on Thursday, these contracts rose by $1.3 (1.1%), to $119.81, per barrel.

Daniel Hines, an analyst for commodity markets of Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, says that the decline in the oil market is caused by the consequences of high inflation. Bloomberg' expert adds that the supply constraints will likely prevent the prices' reduction.