Oil Prices Show Another Steep Drop Amid Worries About Demand

(RTTNews) - Oil prices moved sharply lower over the course of the trading day on Thursday, extending the significant pullback seen in the previous session.

After tumbling $1.98 or 1.8 percent to $109.78 a barrel on Wednesday, crude for August delivery plunged $4.02 or 3.7 percent to $105.76 a barrel.

The continued slump by the price of crude oil reflected lingering concerns about the outlook for demand amid the possibility of a recession.

Oil prices also fell sharply due to uncertainty about future output from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, also known as OPEC+.

After a two-day meeting, OPEC+ agreed to stick with its previously announced plans to increase output by 648,000 barrels per day in July and August but did not comment on its plans for September onwards.

A report from the Commerce Department provided further evidence of an economic slowdown, showing personal spending increased by less than expected in the month of May.

The Commerce Department personal spending edged up by 0.2 percent in May after climbing by a downwardly revised 0.6 percent in April.

Economists had expected personal spending to increase by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.9 percent advance originally reported for the previous month.

Real personal spending, which excludes price changes, fell by 0.4 percent in May after rising by 0.3 percent in April.