Magnifying their previous session’s losses, crude oil futures ended lower on Thursday, as rising COVID-19 cases sparked tighter restrictions on activity in Europe and underlined worries about the outlook for the US and global economic recovery. France and Germany imposed tighter restrictions in response to the rising number of COVID-19 cases. The US reported 79,000 new cases on Wednesday, the second day in a row that the figure topped 70,000, as several states reported a jump in infections. Meanwhile, the US Energy Information Administration reported that domestic supplies of natural gas rose by 29 billion cubic feet for the week ended October 23.
Crude oil futures for December fell $1.22 or 3.3 percent to settle at $36.17 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. December Brent crude dropped $1.47 or 3.8 percent to settle at $37.65 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.