Brent crude drops below $18 a barrel, down more than 8% 

Singapore – Brent crude fell more than eight percent to below $18 a barrel Wednesday while US oil struggled to hold on to early gains as the coronavirus ravages energy markets. 

Brent, the European benchmark, was down 8.79 percent at $17.63 a barrel in Asian trade, extending heavy losses from a day earlier. US benchmark WTI was up almost three percent, after rising 20 percent earlier in the session.

© Agence France-Presse