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Oil prices sank on Thursday following weak U.S. economic data and after a tweet from U.S. President Donald Trump suggesting the nation should delay its November presidential election.

Investors sold riskier assets following Trump’s tweet about delaying the vote. The date of the U.S. election is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, but Trump’s remarks were viewed as an attack on the integrity of the coming election, worrying investors.

Oil markets recovered from their lowest levels of the selloff. West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled $1.35, or 3.27%, lower after falling more than 5% earlier in the session.

Brent crude futures, which expire on Friday, settled 81 cents lower at $42.94 per barrel.

“We have the potential for serious political uncertainty in the U.S. if election dates are challenged,” said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital in New York.

Meanwhile, in a sign of the devastating impact of the coronavirus on the United States, the world’s biggest oil consumer, the country’s economy contracted at its steepest pace since the Great Depression in the second quarter.

Reference: CNBC