Home Industry Energy Oil extends drop in thin trading as fears over Covid wave mount Crude is heading for the first back-to-back quarterly loss since 2019 after a volatile year by Bloomberg December 29, 2022 Oil extended losses on concerns that China’s rapid dismantling of its Covid Zero policy could lead to a surge in cases across the world. West Texas Intermediate dropped toward $78 a barrel after closing down 0.7 per cent on Wednesday. The US will require air passengers from China to show negative virus tests, while Italy will begin testing all arrivals from the Asian nation. That’s overshadowing optimism over a longer-term demand recovery in China. Crude is heading for the first back-to-back quarterly loss since 2019 after a volatile year that saw prices surge after Russia-Ukraine crisis before retreating as concerns over a global economic slowdown mounted. A lack of liquidity has exacerbated price swings this year. Meanwhile, the industry-funded American Petroleum Institute reported US commercial crude inventories fell by 1.3 million barrels last week, according to Dow Jones. Stockpiles at the storage hub at Cushing, Oklahoma, also shrunk, although gasoline and distillate supplies expanded. Tags China Covid-19 energy oil prices 0 Comments You might also like Saudi Arabia cuts oil prices amid nascent demand recovery US clears export of advanced AI chips to UAE under Microsoft deal ADNOC, PETRONAS finalise 15-Year LNG sales deal for Ruwais Project OPEC+ delays oil output hike until April, extends cuts into 2026