Prices for the U.S. oil benchmark entered a bear market Tuesday after finishing more than 20% below their settlement of $123.70 a barrel on March 8, which was the highest finish since August 2008. Oil prices continued their selloff amid renewed COVID-related shutdowns in China, while peace talks continued between Russia and Ukraine, said Marshall Steeves, energy markets analyst at S&P Global Commodity Insights. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, meanwhile, left its supply and demand forecast under assessment in a monthly report issued Tuesday, shining a light “on the downside risk to the global economy from the war in Ukraine,” he said. “West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery fell $6.57, or 6.4%, to settle at $96.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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