Oil prices accelerated their growth during Thursday's trading, continuing to strengthen after a significant drop during the previous two sessions. The current quotation of Brent crude oil is $79.70 per barrel (daily low of $77.84). However, two days ago the price was at the level of $86.50 per barrel. The price of futures for North American WTI crude oil for February increased to $74.76 per barrel (daily low of $72.80). Oil prices have fallen by about 9% over the past two sessions amid an increase in the incidence of COVID-19 in China, clouding the prospects for oil demand in this country. Fears of a recession in the global economy are putting additional pressure on prices. It is worth noting that fears of a shortage of energy resources on the world market in winter, which have supported prices in recent months, are weakening. The fact is that winter in the United States and Europe turned out to be much milder and warmer than expected. Today, the focus of traders' attention is a report on energy reserves in the United States from the Ministry of Energy of the country. Data from the American Petroleum Institute (API), published yesterday, showed an increase in reserves in the States by 3.3 million barrels.
