Latest News

The selling spilled over into commodities markets, where oil prices dropped over $2 per barrel. Gold prices faced their biggest weekly loss in four weeks after the Federal Reserve indicated it was not done hiking rates.

After rising for three straight days, Brent futures fell $1.49, or 1.8%, to settle at $81.21 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $1.17, or 1.5%, to settle at $76.11.

Brent crude futures settled up $2.02, or 2.4%, to $82.70 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled up $1.94 to $77.28.

India's oil imports from Russia rose for the fifth straight month, totaling 908,000 barrels per day (bpd) in November, up 4% from October, the data showed.

The market was also buoyed by concerns about supply disruptions, including the ongoing shutdown of the Canada-to-United States Keystone crude pipeline following a massive leak last week.

The Turkish measures, which came into effect on Dec. 1, requires vessels to provide proof of insurance for the duration of transit through the Bosphorus or when calling at Turkish ports.

In a statement, Petroecuador did not estimate the impact of Sunday's incident on its production levels, but said it was working to normalize output in the coming days after the resulting power outage affected 728 of its wells.

Brent crude futures settled at $77.99 a barrel, gaining $1.89 or 2.5%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $73.17 a barrel, rising $2.15, or 3%.