Oil Dives 4%, Below $100 On China Lockdowns, Reserves Release Plan

• Oil prices fell about 4% on Monday, with Brent crude tumbling below $100 a barrel on worries that the COVID-19 pandemic will cut demand in China and as International Energy Agency (IEA) countries plan to release record volumes of oil from strategic stocks. 
• U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) closed at its lowest since Feb. 25, the day after Russian forces invaded Ukraine, an action Moscow calls a "special military operation." 
• Brent futures fell $4.30, or 4.2%, to settle at $98.48 a barrel, while WTI crude fell $3.97, or 4.0%, to settle at $94.29. It was the lowest close for Brent since March 16. 
• Fuel consumption in China, the world's biggest oil importer, has stalled with COVID-19 lockdowns in Shanghai. Shanghai, China's financial center, started easing lockdowns in some areas on Monday despite reporting a record of more than 25,000 new COVID-19 infections. 
• To help offset a shortfall in Russian crude after Moscow was hit with sanctions, IEA member nations, including the United States, will release 240 million barrels of oil over the next six months. The release of Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) volumes equals 1.3Mn bpd over the next six months, enough to offset a shortfall of 1.0Mn bpd of Russian oil supply.

(Source: Reuters)