Crude oil futures ended lower on Thursday as worries about the outlook for energy demand outweighed recent data showing a substantial drop in crude inventories in the US last week. Rising coronavirus cases, tighter lockdown restrictions and worries over delays in vaccine supplies raised concerns about energy demand and dragged down oil prices.
Crude oil futures for March fell $0.51 or 1 percent to settle at $52.34 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. March Brent crude declined $0.42 or 0.7 percent to settle at $55.11 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.