Oil Prices Settle Lower Over Recovery Concerns

Oil prices declined on Thursday, amid rising concerns about the prospects of economic recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, an increase in US natural gas inventories further pushed the worries for the recovery of the demand for energy.

Brent crude futures for October delivery declined by 8 cents or 0.2% and closed at $45.09 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures for September delivery fell by 24 cents or 0.6% to settle at $41.95 per barrel.

On Tuesday, oil prices finished at its highest level in about five months, after data by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that oil stockpiles decreased last week for the second consecutive week by 7.4 million barrels to a total of 518.6 million barrels.