China has become one of the biggest oil consumers in the world, and economists expected it would burn even more fuel this year. But a recent crackdown on bank lending has raised fears that China's economic recovery — and its appetite for oil — could falter.
In the U.S., the government is expected to report Thursday that the nation's supply of oil, gasoline and other fuels continues to grow as Americans continue to use less energy.
Meanwhile, equities markets dropped on concerns by banks that the U.S. economy remains fragile and will take a long time to recover. The dollar also strengthened relative to other major currencies, making crude barrels more expensive to buy for investors holding foreign money.
In other Nymex trading in February contracts, heating oil fell 2.43 cents to settle at $2.0211 a gallon, while gasoline dropped 1.26 cents to settle at $2.0465 a gallon. Natural gas futures lost 6.1 cents to settle at $5.496 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude for March delivery shed $1.65 to $75.98 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange