Oil price benchmarks fall below US$100, first time in weeks

During the session, Brent LCOc1 futures plummeted $6.99, or 6.5%, to settle at $99.91 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 fell $6.57, or 6.4%, to settle at $96.44 a barrel. Brent fell as low as $97.44 and WTI hit $93.53, their lowest since Feb. 25. On technical charts, both contracts moved the closest to oversold territory since December

NEW YORK: Oil prices tumbled more than 6% on Tuesday to their lowest in almost three weeks, as Russia suggested it would allow a revival of the Iran nuclear deal to go forward and as traders worried growing pandemic lockdowns in China could dent demand.

Both Brent and U.S. crude futures benchmarks settled below US$100 per barrel for the first time since late February. Since reaching 14-year highs on March 7, Brent has slid nearly $40 and WTI more than $30. Trading has been extremely volatile since Russia invaded Ukraine more than two weeks ago.