Oil prices fell, driven by the possibility that the presence of additional quantities of US strategic petroleum reserves would allay market fears about tight supply with the approach of the winter season.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 2.4% to trade below $84 a barrel in another volatile session.
The United States is moving towards releasing more barrels from its strategic reserve in order to boost supplies. The price of crude continues to witness large fluctuations in light of the dominance of risk sentiment in the markets.
The volatility of crude prices in October showed that the market is skewed between two different factors. The main indicators of market strength, called "time spreads", point to weak supply in the market ahead of the OPEC+ production cuts that will take effect from November, but downside drivers such as weak Chinese demand and strong monetary policy from central banks continue to pressure markets.
European Union sanctions on Russia also loom, and some Indian refiners are halting their spot purchases of crude in the country ahead of the cut deadline.
The United States is moving toward releasing another 10-15 million barrels of oil from the country's emergency stockpile in an effort to balance markets and prevent gasoline prices from rising further, according to people familiar with the matter.
Separately, two people said the Biden administration was still considering restrictions on fuel exports.
Follow the latest news on Google News
