Oil Prices Sink As Fears Of A U.S. Default Continue To Weigh On Markets

Crude oil prices started the week sluggishly, with the benchmarks declining slightly at the time of writing, after posting a modest gain for the previous week. Brent crude was trading at a bit over $75 per barrel at the time of writing and West Texas Intermediate was changing hands for just over $71 per barrel as demand recovery fought for traders’ attention alongside U.S. debt ceiling negotiations. The ongoing negotiations on the U.S. debt ceiling have in recent days become the primary bearish factor for oil as fears mount that a debt default…