Oil Plunges Further on Weakening Demand, Geopolitical Worries

US benchmark oil prices plunge more than $2, down 3.6% at $63.11 a barrel and are now down more than 16% from a mid-July peak above $75 as investors start to warn of a looming bear market. WTI crude has fallen for five consecutive sessions as demand for gasoline, jet fuel and other products drop due to a seasonal slowdown, fears over the Delta variant, and inflation. “Oil is falling sharply on fear factors and moving into a near term bearish market trend,” says Peter Cardillo at Spartan Capital. “We think the market nerviness stems from an overbought market, rising geopolitical concerns and technical factors.”