Oil prices fell nearly 4 percent on Wednesday, extending the previous session’s sharp decline, even after a report showed U.S. crude inventories fell more than expected on heightened fears of a U.S. recession, Reuters reported.

The price of Brent crude oil closed at $77.69 per barrel, losing $3.08 or 3.8%.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil settled at $74.30 a barrel, down $2.77, or 3.6%.

Data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showing that U.S. crude inventories fell by 5.1 million barrels last week to 460.9 million barrels helped limit the fall in prices, well above analysts’ forecasts for a decline of 1.5 million. barrels, according to a Reuters poll.

Gasoline and distillate stocks also fell by 2.4 million barrels to 221.1 million barrels and by nearly 600,000 barrels to 111.5 million barrels, respectively, the IEA said.

The new quote changes reversed all of the price increases that took place after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and producer allies such as Russia, collectively known as OPEC+, announced in early April that they would further cut production until the end of the year. year.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Novak said on Wednesday that OPEC+ remains an effective coordination tool.

Oil prices fell more than 2 percent on Tuesday as lingering economic worries and expectations of further hikes in key interest rates, which could dampen growth in demand for the fuel, countered signs of an improvement in consumption growth in the near term.

U.S. consumer confidence fell to a nine-month low in April amid rising concerns, raising the risk that the economy could slip into recession this year.