Oil Fell to Its Lowest Level in Two Weeks

Oil prices fell to their lowest level in two weeks after official data showed a sudden jump in US crude stocks, and with the increase in Covid-19 cases in Europe and Russia and the emergence of some hotbeds of infection in China, dampening hopes for an economic recovery.

Brent crude futures fell $1.58, or 1.9 percent, to $83 a barrel, after the price fell to $82.32 earlier on Thursday and after falling 2.1 percent in the previous session.

US West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.39, or 1.7 percent, to $81.27 a barrel, its lowest level in two weeks, after dropping 2.4 percent on Wednesday.

The emergence of new strains of the Coronavirus in China, record deaths from the disease, the threat of closure in Russia, as well as the rise in cases in Western Europe, halted the rise in oil prices that continued for several weeks.

The US Energy Information Administration said that crude oil inventories in the United States increased by 4.3 million barrels, compared to the expectations of analysts in a Reuters poll for an increase of 1.9 million barrels.