Investing.com - Oil prices traded lower on Thursday amid sharp selloffs in global stock markets.
Crude Oil WTI Futures for December delivery lost 0.7% to trade at $66.38 per barrel by 1:38 AM ET (05:38 GMT) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent Oil Futures for December delivery traded 0.7% lower to $75.72 a barrel on London’s Intercontinental Exchange.
"Oil prices fell under extreme selling pressure ... as the steep selloff across stock markets fueled fears over a possible drop in oil demand growth," said Lukman Otunuga, analyst at futures brokerage FXTM.
The U.S. stock markets closed with a slump Wednesday evening, with the S&P 500 dropping 3.09% and Nasdaq falling 4.43%. The nosedive prompted Asian markets to tumble Thursday morning, with Japan’s Nikkei down more than 3%.
Elsewhere, International Energy Agency director Fatih Birol said the world's biggest oil and gas producers are under more pressure to reduce their reliance on energy revenues amid advancement in fuel efficiencies and electric vehicles.
"More than at any other point in recent history, I believe there needs to be fundamental change in the development models of those countries," IEA director Fatih Birol said.
Birol said oil and gas revenues for these countries could potentially fall to $1,250 by 2030, a 30% drop.
"When we look at these countries, on average they get more than 70% of their government revenues from oil and gas," he said. "Those are under pressure from prices, they are under pressure from the amount of oil they export and under pressure from population growth ... We think it is very different from the past."