Crude oil futures ended deeply in red on Thursday, extending their previous sessions’ losses, amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to uncertainty about the pace of the economic recovery following a slowdown in vaccine rollouts in European countries. Reports showing a surge in coronavirus cases in several countries in Europe and fears of fresh lockdown measures raised concerns about energy demand. Besides, rising tensions between the US and Russia, which could result in the latter increasing its oil output, also weighed on prices.
Crude oil futures for April dropped $4.60 or 7.1 percent to settle at $60.00 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. May Brent crude fell $5.32 or nearly 8 percent to settle at $62.68a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.