WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil prices dropped on Wednesday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand amid fears of a global recession and concerns about rising Covid-19 cases in China.
However, the decline in prices was not sharp as Russia's decision to ban oil sales from February to countries that abide by a G7 price cap imposed on December 5.
According to reports, Covid-19 cases have risen sharply in China following the country moving away from its hardline zero-Covid policy.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended down $0.57 or about 0.7% at $78.86 a barrel.
Brent crude futures settled at $83.26 a barrel today, down $1.07 or about 1.3% from the previous close.
China announced earlier this week that it will stop requiring inbound travelers to go into quarantine from early next year. Buoyed by the news, crude prices reached their highest in three weeks on Tuesday.
After China announced the re-opening of borders in a major shift of its epidemic response policies, several countries have announced safety measures like testing and medical scrutiny of passengers, coming from China and other countries where the virus is prevalent.
Investors now await weekly crude inventory reports from the American Petroleum Institute (API) and U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The API data is due later today, while EIA's report is due Thursday morning.
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