Oil prices fell by more than $3 U.S. on Wednesday, plumbing their lowest since Russia invaded Ukraine on demand fears stoked by looming recession risks and downbeat Chinese trade data.
Brent crude futures were down $3.40, or 3.66%, at $89.43 U.S. a barrel, touching their lowest since Feb. 3, and falling below $90 a barrel for the first since since Feb. 8.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell by $3.42, or 3.94%, to $83.46, reaching its lowest since Jan. 24 as recession fears moved back into the spotlight.
Elsewhere, he European Central Bank is widely expected to raise interest rates sharply when it meets on Thursday. A U.S. Federal Reserve meeting follows on Sept. 21.
Weak economic data from China amid its stringent zero-COVID policy has also added to demand concerns.
The country’s crude oil imports in August fell 9.4% from a year earlier, customs data showed on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Britain’s new prime minister, Liz Truss, on Wednesday said she wanted to see more extraction of oil and gas from the North Sea.
Weekly U.S. inventory reports from the American Petroleum Institute will be released later on Wednesday, a day later than usual because of a public holiday on Monday.
U.S. crude stockpiles are expected to have fallen for a fourth consecutive week, declining by an estimated 733,000 barrels in the week to Sept. 2, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Tuesday.
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