Investing.com - Oil prices jumped on Friday in Asia after falling to their lowest in more than a year in the previous session amid worries on the global economy.

Crude Oil WTI Futures for February delivery traded 2.3% higher to $45.65 a barrel at 12:20 AM ET (05:20 GMT) on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent Oil Futures for March delivery gained 1.9% to $53.71 per barrel on London’s Intercontinental Exchange.

Oil prices were down as much as 4% on Thursday following a turbulent session on the Wall Street that saw the Dow plunge more than 600 points at one point.

"For the time being, the stock market and the oil market will echo each other," said Ahn Yea-Ha, commodity analyst at Kiwoom Securities in Seoul.
"Global economic slowdown worries have been weighing on stock market movements, and oil prices are not free from those concerns."

Faced with oversupplies from record high U.S., Saudi and Russian production, OPEC pledged on Dec. 7 to cut 1.2 million barrels per day in global oil output over the next six months under its enlarged OPEC+ pact that does not include the United States.

However, in the three weeks since that announcement, oil prices have only fallen further, hitting 18-month lows, as fears of a global economic slowdown and the possibility of a protracted U.S. government shutdown added to concerns.

In other news, U.S. crude inventories for the week to Dec. 21 rose by 6.9 million barrels to 448.2 million barrels on increased refinery output, according to data released on Thursday by industry group the American Petroleum Institute.

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