Crude oil prices plunged sharply on Wednesday as US data showed the market had weak demand for oil.
The international benchmark Brent crude dropped $5.11 or 5.6% to close at $85.81 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell $5.01 or 5.6% to settle at $84.22 a barrel. Crude prices have now fallen about $10 since the closing of last week.
The decline on Wednesday was the largest one-day drop since August 2022.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on Wednesday that domestic stocks of petrol rose by 6.5 million barrels last week in contrast to only a drop of 2.2 million barrels in stocks of crude.
An analyst from JPMorgan noted that demand restraint from rising oil prices is once again becoming visible.
The U.S. 10-year bond yield that recently hit 16-year high at 4.8% is also another major factor that pressured oil prices.
Crude prices made a slight recovery on Thursday morning in the Asian trading hours as Brent rose $0.20 or 0.23% to $86.01 a barrel, while WTI gained $0.12 or 0.14% to $84.34 per barrel.
