Oil falls as geopolitical tensions ease, China Covid concerns return

Oil prices fell for a second day in early Asian trade on Thursday as concerns over geopolitical tensions eased and rising numbers of Covid-19 cases in China added to demand worries in the world’s largest crude importer. Brent crude futures dropped by 62 cents, or 0.7 per cent, to $92.24 a barrel by 0110 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 65 cents, or 0.8pc, to $84.94 a barrel. Brent dropped by 1.1pc and WTI declined by 1.5pc on Wednesday after Russian oil shipments via the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary restarted. “Crude oil fell after Nato cleared Russia’s missile attack on Poland, while demand concerns (are) back to traders’ focus amid ongoing China’s Covid curbs and gloomy global economic outlooks,” said Tina Teng, an analyst at CMC Markets.