Oil futures mark lowest finish in over 2 weeks as U.S. announces biggest-ever release from crude reserves

Oil futures dropped on Thursday as the U.S. announced its biggest-ever release from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve. President Joe Biden authorized the release of 1 million barrels of oil per day for the next six months. It’s “essentially a temporary measure designed to minimize the spring rally, and to that end, it could increase supplies marginally and thereby keep prices commensurately lower,” said Marshall Steeves, energy markets analyst at S&P Global Commodity Insights. “However, the war in Ukraine remains the overriding consideration and the possible loss of Russian output is the motivating factor.” West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery fell $7.54, or 7%, to settle at $100.28 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest front-month contract finish since March 16, according to Dow Jones Market Data. For the month, however, prices rose 4.8%, and ended the quarter over 33% higher.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.