FX.co ★ Brent fell below $ 55 a barrel for the first time since September 2017

Brent crude oil during trading on Thursday fell to $ 54.66 a barrel, refreshing the low of September 2017. Quotes of WTI Texas oil also showed a decline to $ 46.15 a barrel.

The main driver of the fall in the oil market were the results of the meeting of the Federal Reserve System (FRS) of the USA, which provided strong support to the US dollar across the entire spectrum of the market. The regulator decided to raise the interest rate to 2.25-2.5%, despite the deterioration of the macroeconomic forecast: estimates of growth in GDP and consumer prices were lowered, and the US Central Bank now plans two increases in the rate instead of three next year.

Additional pressure on the Brent rate came from a report from the US Department of Energy, reflecting an insufficient reduction in US oil reserves (a total of 497 thousand barrels instead of an expected decrease of 3 million barrels).