2023.03.2410:02:00UTC+00Oil Prices Tumble As Recession Worries Mount

Oil prices fell more than 2 percent on Friday to extend losses from the previous session on concerns about the impact on demand from a possible recession or further banking upheaval.

Benchmark Brent crude futures fell 2.2 percent to $74.28 a barrel, while WTI crude futures were down 2.4 percent at $68.2.

Bank worries persist, overshadowing hopes that central banks would shortly halt interest rates rises.

Banking stocks fell across the board in Europe after Deutsche Bank saw a spike in credit default swaps on Thursday night.

Separately, the Bloomberg reported that Credit Suisse Group and UBS Group AG are among the banks under scrutiny in a U.S. Justice Department probe for potentially helping Russian oligarchs evade sanctions.

Oil prices also remain under pressure from worries about potential oversupply after U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said refilling the country's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) may take several years.