WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Despite staying positive during much of the day's trading session, crude oil futures settled lower on Wednesday amid concerns about a possible U.S. recession.
Concerns about interest rates weighed as well on oil prices after St. Louis Fed President James Bullard commented that the central bank needs to quickly hiked interest rates above 5%.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended lower by $0.70 or about 0.9% at $79.48 a barrel.
Brent crude futures were down $1.13 or 1.33% at $84.79 a barrel a little while ago.
Oil prices surged higher earlier in the day after OPEC forecast that Chinese demand for oil is on track for a bounce.
OPEC said on Tuesday in its monthly report that Chinese oil demand would rebound this year due to the recent relaxation of the country's COVID-19 containment measures.
OPEC also sounded an optimistic note on the prospects for the world economy in 2023, saying a stronger Chinese economy would drive global growth.
The International Monetary Fund's First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath said in a message from Davos that global growth will improve in the second half of this year and into 2024.
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