Oil’s Drop to 8-Week Low Tempered by WHO Decision, Stock Draw
- World Health Organization opts against global emergency
- Key Cushing crude hub stocks fell nearly 1 million barrels
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Oil slid to an eight-week low on concern that China’s coronavirus outbreak may dent demand. But the drop was tempered by an unexpected decline in U.S. crude inventories and as the World Health Organization opted against declaring the virus a global health emergency.
Futures sank 2% in New York on Thursday, paring an earlier 3.5% drop. The Energy Information Administration reported a 405,000-barrel decrease in crude stockpiles last week, in contrast to expectations for a build by analysts and the industry-funded American Petroleum Institute. A committee of experts convened by the United Nations health agency opted to continue monitoring the outbreak, which has killed more than a dozen people and sickened hundreds.