Oil dips on China lockdowns.. Brent below $105/barrel

Oil prices dropped % on Tuesday on demand fears stemming from China’s prolonged COVID-19 lockdowns.

Brent crude ended down $2.61, or 2.4%, at $104.97 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled $2.76, or 2.6%, lower at $102.41.

Beijing is expanding testing residents to avert a lockdown similar to Shanghai’s over the past month.

“There are real worries about whether Chinese demand will remain strong this year.

Meanwhile, European Union countries are working on a sixth round of sanctions against Russia including a ban on imports of Russian oil by the end of this year.