Crude oil futures settled in red on Wednesday, surrendering early gains, on concerns about a possible U.S. recession. Meanwhile, Concerns about interest rates weighed as well on oil prices after St. Louis Fed President James Bullard commented that the central bank needs to quickly hiked interest rates above 5%. However, Oil prices rose earlier in the day after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) forecast that Chinese demand for oil is on track for a bounce. OPEC in its monthly report said that Chinese oil demand would rebound this year due to the recent relaxation of the country's COVID-19 containment measures.
Benchmark crude oil futures for February delivery dropped $0.70 or 0.9 percent at $79.48 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for March delivery fell $0.94 or 1.1 percent at $84.98 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.