Oil settles lower in volatile trade on worries about Delta variant | Reuters

Oil settles lower in volatile trade on worries about Delta variant | Reuters

Oil settled lower on Tuesday in volatile trade, as concern about rising cases of the Delta coronavirus variant outweighed expectations for another weekly draw in U.S. invesntories that had boosted prices early.

Brent crude oil futures settled down 48 cents, or 0.66% at $72.41 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled down 70 cents, or 0.98% at $70.56 a barrel.

Concerns over the spread of Delta variant in the United States and China, the top oil consumers, weighed on prices, with both benchmarks falling more than 3% at one point.

In China, the spread of the variant from the coast to inland cities has prompted authorities to impose strict measures to bring the outbreak under control. read more

"The news flow out of China has been bearish since the weekend," said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital Management in New York. "There continues to be angst about the COVID-19 situation, which weighs on the petroleum complex the most."