Oil prices plunge on China lockdowns, stocks waver

Oil prices plunge on China lockdowns, stocks waver

Oil prices plunged Tuesday as major crude consumer and global economic engine China placed nearly 30 million people under Covid lockdown.

Hong Kong, Chinese mainland and European markets slumped, but Wall Street opened higher, with investors tracking the resurgence of the coronavirus in China, the war in Ukraine and a key US Federal Reserve policy meeting.

Crude futures slumped under $100 per barrel just a week after benchmark contract Brent North Sea soared to a 14-year high close to $140 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.