The West Texas Intermediate for March delivery lost 51 cents to settle at 52.34 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for March delivery decreased 28 cents to close at 55.53 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
Traders were worried that fresh travel restrictions to prevent the spread of coronavirus outbreaks could depress demand.
Meanwhile, a hefty drop in U.S. crude stockpiles lent a support to prices.
U.S. crude oil inventories decreased by 9.9 million barrels during the week ending Jan. 22, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report on Wednesday. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts had anticipated the EIA publication to show a decline of 1.7 million barrels in U.S. supplies.
At 476.7 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories were about 5 percent above the five-year average for this time of year.
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