LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices dropped below $79 a barrel on Friday as a fresh surge in COVID-19 cases in Europe threatened to slow the economic recovery while investors also weighed a potential release of crude reserves by major economies to cool energy prices.
Brent crude was down $2.44, or 3%, at $78.80 a barrel by 1110 GMT, its lowest since early October, after earlier rising to as high as $82.24, extending volatility seen on Thursday.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for December delivery was down $2.30, or 2.9%, at $76.72 a barrel.
The WTI December contract expires on Friday and most trading activity has shifted to the January future, which was down 2.3% at $76.11 a barrel.
