Crude oil futures ended sharply lower on Tuesday, magnifying the previous day's slide, amid concerns a fresh financial crisis following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank could significantly hurt oil demand. Despite the Biden administration's assurance that there won't be a relapse of the financial crisis from 15 years ago, worries of a wider contagion persist, hurting oil prices. Meanwhile, Consumer prices in the U.S. increased in line with street estimates in the month of February, according to a report released by the Labor Department. The Labor Department said its consumer price index rose by 0.4 percent in February after climbing by 0.5 percent in January. The advance by the index matched expectations.
Benchmark crude oil futures for April delivery fell $3.47 or 4.7 percent to $71.33 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for May delivery dropped $3.32 or 4.1 percent to $77.45 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.