Oil prices fell to their lowest levels in two weeks after official data showed a surprising jump in U.S. crude inventories and as COVID-19 cases surged in Europe and Russia, along with some outbreaks in China, which diminished hopes for an economic recovery. Brent crude futures fell by $1.58, or 1.9%, to $83 per barrel at 0502 GMT after dropping to $82.32 earlier in the day and following a decline of 2.1% in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped $1.39, or 1.7%, to $81.27 per barrel, marking its lowest level in two weeks after a 2.4% decrease on Wednesday.
The emergence of new COVID-19 outbreaks in China, record fatalities from the disease, the threat of lockdowns in Russia, and rising cases in Western Europe halted the oil price increases that had persisted for several weeks. In the United States, economic growth is likely to have slowed to its lowest rate in nearly 12 months between June and September, with rising COVID-19 infections and pressures on global supply chains and shortages of some products, including cars.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a 4.3 million barrel increase in crude oil inventories, compared to analysts' forecasts in a Reuters survey predicting a 1.9 million barrel rise. Commodity analysts at Citi Research noted that the "large increase" in inventories was "against the backdrop of a significant surge in net crude imports and continuing sluggish refinery throughput." However, gasoline inventories fell by two million barrels to their lowest levels in nearly four years, despite American consumers struggling to obtain fuel amid rising prices.
