WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil prices rose sharply amid thin deals on Wednesday, rebounding after a severe setback that saw prices plunge to near eighteen-month low on Christmas Eve.
Fears about likely fall in energy demand due to global economic slowdown and concerns over excess supply in the market kept pushing down crude oil prices in recent sessions, despite OPEC and some non-OPEC members including Russia agreeing to cut crude output by 1.2 million barrels per day from January 2019.
From the highs attained in September this year, crude oil futures plunged more than 40% in a short span.
Crude oil futures for February ended up $4.69, or 0.8.6%, at $46.22 a barrel today, recording their biggest single session gain in several months.
Brent crude oil futures rose 8% to around $54.50, after having tumbled more than 6% in the previous session.
On Monday, crude oil futures settled lower by $3.06, or 6.7%, at $42.53 a barrel, the lowest settlement since mid 2017. In absolute terms, oil's decline in that session was the steepest in about three months.
Weekly crude inventories data from the Energy Information Administration is due on Friday this week, later than usual, due to Christmas holiday.
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