International oil prices continued their slide on Wednesday, falling over 4 percent to hit the lowest since late 2021 as turmoil at Credit Suisse offset hopes of a demand recovery from China.
Credit Suisse lost almost a quarter of its value today, dropping to a record low after its largest investor, the Saudi National Bank, said it could not provide more financial help to the Swiss bank.
Brent crude fell $2.67 to $74.78 a barrel while the US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) was down $2.61 to $68.72, having also hit its lowest since December 2021.
Oil had rallied earlier after figures showed that economic activity in China has picked up in the first two months of the current year as the government relaxed strict Covid-19 conditions.
On Tuesday both Brent crude and WTI shed over 4 percent to three-month lows. The key driver of the slump in prices was fear that the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and other US bank failures could result in a financial crisis that would weigh on fuel demand.
It is pertinent to mention here that the government is set to announce new petroleum prices later today. It is unlikely that today’s fall in international oil prices will have any impact on today’s announcement.
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