Oil prices slump on gloomy economic outlook

Oil prices continued to slide on Wednesday, weighed down by China’s rising Covid cases and a recession warning from the International Monetary Fund.

Brent crude futures for the March contract had fallen to $79.26 a barrel, a 3.4% loss, as of 12:41 GMT. WTI, the American benchmark, was down over 3.2%, falling to $74.47 per barrel. On Tuesday, both benchmarks plunged more than 4%.

The number of Covid-19 cases has surged in mainland China over the past few days, triggering fears of more disruption for an economy already weakened by nearly three years of pandemic restrictions.

The unrelenting surge of Covid in China, the ongoing Ukraine conflict, soaring consumer prices, and higher interest rates will drive a third of the global economy into recession this year, Kristalina Georgieva, the head of the International Monetary Fund, warned last week.

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