TOKYO (Reuters) – Oil prices slid to six-week lows on Thursday as China said it was moving to release strategic reserves after a Reuters report that the United States was asking large consuming nations to consider a coordinated stockpile release to lower prices.
The bid by the U.S. to shock markets, asking China to join a coordinated action for the first time, comes as inflationary pressures, partly driven by surging energy prices, start to produce a political backlash, as the world fitfully recovers from the worst health crisis in a century.
Brent crude was down 83 cents, or 1%, to $79.87 a barrel by 0749 GMT, after earlier dropping to $79.28, the lowest since Oct. 7.
