Oil settles lower as China developer downgrades add to fears of demand outlook
Oil prices settled lower on Thursday on fears about the economic outlook in the world’s biggest oil importer following ratings downgrades to two Chinese property developers, and after some governments took measures to fight the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Brent crude futures settled down $1.40, or 1.9%, to $74.42 a barrel, backing off a session high of $76.70.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down $1.42, or 2%, at $70.94 after hitting a peak of $73.34.
On Thursday, ratings agency Fitch downgraded property developers China Evergrande Group and Kaisa Group to “restricted default” status, saying they had defaulted on offshore bonds, while a source said that Kaisa had started work on restructuring its $12 billion offshore debt.
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