NEW YORK, Jan 4 (Reuters) – Oil fell nearly 5% on Wednesday after slumping in the previous session, weighed down by demand concerns stemming from the state of the global economy and rising COVID cases in China. Brent futures fell $3.75 to $78.35 a barrel for a 4.6% loss by 1:02 a.m. EST (1802 GMT). U.S. crude dropped $3.57, or 4.6%, to $73.36. Both benchmarks also plunged more than 4% on Tuesday, with Brent posting its biggest daily decline in more than three months.
“The energy complex is furthering yesterday’s sharp decline in kicking this new year off on an extremely weak note,” said Jim Ritterbusch or Ritterbusch and Associates, who added that China’s COVID-19 cases were among the top drags on oil prices.
Data from China showed that while no new variant has been found there, the country has under-represented how many people have died in its recent rapidly spreading outbreak, World Health Organization officials said.