Oil prices notched their steepest fall in more than a year on Wednesday, settling near $85 a barrel and erasing gains from the past month.
Brent crude fell 5.6 per cent to settle at $85.81 a barrel, its sharpest decline since August 2022. Last week, it approached the $100 mark, hitting an intraday high of $97.69 on Thursday.
West Texas Intermediate, the US marker, fell 5.6 per cent to $84.22, its biggest fall since September 2022.
The drop wiped out gains that had accumulated since the start of September, when major producers Saudi Arabia and Russia vowed to extend voluntary cuts in production.
Energy stocks were among the worst performers in the S&P 500, with ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Chevron dropping 4.7 per cent, 4.2 per cent and 2.9 per cent, respectively.
