Oil prices fall further as China extends Covid curbs

Oil prices fell on Thursday, extending sharp losses from the previous session, as China’s extension of lockdown measures to curb the Covid-19 spread exacerbated concerns that a slowdown in economic activity globally would hit fuel demand. Brent crude futures lost 40 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to $87.60 per barrel by 1002 GMT, near a late-January low. US crude futures were down 41 cents, or 0.5pc, at $81.53 a barrel, near a mid-January low. Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen said the decline was “driven by continued demand worries related to the risk of growth-killing rate hikes from central banks battling runaway inflation and China’s continued economic struggle caused by its Covid-zero policy”. China’s Chengdu extended a lockdown for a majority of its more than 21 million residents on Thursday to prevent further transmission of Covid-19 while millions more in other parts of the country were told to shun travel in upcoming holidays.