By Barani Krishnan
Investing.com - Oil prices fell about 4% on Thursday, tumbling their most in a day since November, after a surge in new Covid-19 cases in Europe and the bloc’s continued challenges with vaccinations for the virus.
U.S. government data from a day ago showing a surprisingly large build in domestic crude stockpiles added to market jitters, traders said.
New York-traded West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark for U.S. crude, was down $2.53, or 3.9%, at $62.07 per barrel by 10:31 AM ET (14:31 GMT) after an intraday low at $61.92. It was WTI’s sharpest one-day drop since November 6, when it lost 4.3%. The U.S. crude benchmark has also lost 6% since its last positive close a week ago.
London-traded Brent, the global benchmark for crude, was down $2.59, or 3.8%, at $65.41, after a session low at $65.28.