On Wednesday, oil prices experienced further declines, dropping over 3% to reach six-month lows amid concerns about oversupply and weakening demand.

Brent crude futures for February decreased by 33 cents, or 0.45%, reaching $72.91 per barrel by 0621 GMT. Concurrently, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for January saw a decline of 29 cents, or 0.42%, settling at $68.32 per barrel, as reported by Reuters.

The market faced setbacks during overnight trading due to stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation readings for November, leading to the belief that the Federal Reserve was unlikely to implement early-year interest rate cuts. This expectation, in turn, raised concerns about potential impacts on consumption.