⁍ Oil prices fell more than 5% on Wednesday, sending Brent to a four-month low.

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⁍ Escalated coronavirus infections in the United States and Europe prompted renewed lockdowns.

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⁍ Also pressuring prices, U.S. crude stockpiles rose more than expected last week.

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– Oil prices took a turn for the worse on Wednesday, with both Brent and US crude hitting four-month lows, Reuters reports. According to the Wall Street Journal, both benchmarks closed down more than 5%. “The increase in oil production led to an unexpected build of crude oil, and given the additional lockdowns we are seeing in Europe, that is just further heaping bad news on the oil market,” says Andy Lipow, president of consultants Lipow Oil Associates. Also hurting prices was US crude stockpiles, which rose more than expected last week as production surged in a record build, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Also pressuring prices, US crude stockpiles rose more than expected last week as production surged in a record build, according to the US Energy Information Administration. “Between the United States and Libya, production is up almost 2 million bpd in the past couple weeks,” says Robert Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho in New York. “If OPEC+ takes the view that US producers are only going to increase production, then OPEC+ may ‘unleash the 2 million barrels in January and let the chips fall where they may … most likely crude oil down considerably.”