17.03.202110:05:00UTC+00Oil Extends Losses On Demand Worries

Oil prices fell for a fourth straight session on Wednesday amid uncertainty over when global oil demand will return to pre-Covid levels.

Brent crude for May settlement fell 27 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $68.12 per barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 0.3 percent at $64.60.

"Oil demand will likely never catch up with its pre-pandemic trajectory," Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its annual medium-term outlook.

Fuel consumption will average just over 101 million barrels a day in 2023 and growth will be subdued thereafter due to new working habits and a shift away from fossil fuels, the IEA said in a report.

A combination of high crude stocks and concerns about stalled vaccine rollouts also weighed on prices.

After the American Petroleum Institute reported an unexpected decline in U.S crude stockpiles last week, traders now look for confirmation of the drawdown in crude stocks in official data due from the Energy Information Administration later in the day.