Decline in oil prices and stock indices in the US will increase pressure on agricultural crop quotations in the near future

Oil prices fell to a 2-month low on Friday amid a possible contraction in US energy demand as economic reports on jobs and manufacturing orders in June came in worse than expected, suggesting a slowdown in the US economy.

The U.S. unemployment rate unexpectedly rose 0.2% in July to a 3-year high of 4.3% (vs. 4.1% expected), while manufacturing orders fell 3.3% in June (vs. 3.2% expected) , which was the biggest drop in the last 4 years.

U.S. stocks saw a sell-off in stocks, especially technology companies (yes, Intel shares fell more than 26%), sending the S&P 500 down 1.84% to an 8-week low, the Nasdaq 100 down 2.38% to a 2- monthly low, Dow Jones Industrials - by 1.51% to a 3-week low. Experts have warned that the growth of stock indices only due to the increase in the price of shares of AI-related companies will become another "bubble", so their fall by 25-50% will be needed to return to the "normal" level of the indices.

October Brent oil futures on the London ICE Futures exchange fell 3.6% on Friday to a 2-month low of $76.7/barrel (-4.7% for the week, -12.9% for the month ) on US economic data without reacting to the escalation between Iran and Israel. Iran's promised response could lead to speculative oil prices in the coming days, but overall global oil demand continues to shrink.

According to S&P Global, Russian crude oil exports by sea fell to a 12-month low in July amid a reduction in the Urals discount to Brent oil to its lowest level since the full-scale incursion and a seasonal drop in demand from Indian refineries.

The decline in oil prices and stock indices in the US will soon increase the pressure on agricultural crop quotations, which already remain at a low level.