Crude oil futures ended lower on Thursday as rising coronavirus cases in the US and Europe and imposition of fresh lockdown measures at several places raised concerns about energy demand. Despite positive updates on the vaccine front, with Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca all saying their Covid-19 vaccines are proving to be quite successful during the final phase of trials, there are worries about the pandemic due to continued increase in new cases. Meanwhile, the continued impasse over a fiscal stimulus bill is hurting as well.
Crude oil futures for December fell $0.08 or about 0.2 percent to settle at $41.74 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. January Brent crude declined 0.32 percent to settle at $44.20 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.