U.S. gasoline retail prices fell for 37 consecutive days Crude oil fell below $100 due to a number of factors

WTI crude fell 3.
5 percent on Thursday to settle at about $
96 a barrel as crude prices fell sharply on rising coronavirus cases in Asia and demand concerns over stagnant gasoline consumption in the United States.
At press time, WTI was down 0.
21% at $
96.
36.
Meanwhile, open interest in major oil contracts hovers near six-year lows, leaving the market vulnerable to wild swings
.

Libya's increase in production has added to the bearish
sentiment on oil.
Libya is resuming production after the lifting of export restrictions, producing more than 700,000 barrels
per day.
Production is expected to return to 1.
2 million barrels
per day in a week to ten days.
The premium for crude oil futures contracts has declined in recent months, indicating that concerns about oil scarcity are cooling
.

Ed Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda Corp, said: "Oil trading has weakened
.
Oil is no longer the easiest deal on Wall Street, and many traders have abandoned their bullish bets
on it.
”

After spending much of the first half of the year rising, oil prices have fallen in recent weeks, erasing almost all gains since the Russian-Ukrainian war
.
This is due to fears of a recession, tightening by central banks and more investors staying away from commodities
.
Oil prices have sometimes fluctuated
wildly this week due to various events.

Gasoline consumption in the United States has cooled significantly recently
.
Its premium relative to U.
S.
crude at one point exceeded $60 a barrel in June, and is now less than half that
level.
Retail gasoline prices in the United States have fallen
for 37 consecutive days.

Traders also focused on events in Europe as Russia's largest gas pipeline to the continent was restarted, bringing some relief
to the market.