Brent crude futures dropped 2% to around $80.5 per barrel

Brent crude futures dropped 2% to around $80.5 per barrel on Wednesday, not far from a one-year low of $75.6 hit on December 9th, pressured by a weakening global demand outlook amid growing fears of a Fed-induced recession in the US and persistent coronavirus-related uncertainties in top consumer China.

 A wave of infections and a rising death toll in China has hurt the near-term demand outlook in the world’s second-largest economy, prompting officials to raise export quotas for refined oil products in the first batch for 2023.

 Still, the country’s continued reopening is a positive factor for the economy and, consequently, for crude demand in the long term. Meanwhile, investors remain cautious about retaliatory actions from Russia after it banned oil exports to foreign buyers that adopted the G7 price cap and the prospect of further production cuts from OPEC+. .