24.03.202319:04:00UTC+00Oil Futures Settle Notably Lower As Banking Sector Crisis Fuels Growth Worries

Crude oil prices fell on Friday, extending losses from the previous session, amid concerns rising interest rates might hurt growth and result in a drop in energy demand.

A stronger dollar weighed as well on oil prices.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended lower by $0.70 or about 1% at $69.26 a barrel.

Brent crude futures were down $1.01 or 1.33% at $74.90 a barrel a little while ago.

Several central banks, including the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, have raised their interest rates, and indicated more increases in the coming months to fight inflation.

Worries about the turmoil in the banking sector linger despite steps taken by governments and central banks.

A spike in Deautsche Bank's credit default swaps, and reports about Credit Suisse and UBS Group coming under scrutiny in a U.S. Justice Department probe for potentially helping Russian oligarchs evade sanctions, are also adding to concerns about the health of the banking industry.

Potential oversupply in the U.S. after Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm's remarks that refilling the country's Strategic Petroleum Reserve may take several years also weighed on oil prices.