Oil prices plunge, Canadian energy stocks take beating as global banking fears spread
![Oil Oil](/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2020/4/20/oil-1-4903431-1627408063770.png)
Crude oil prices took a beating Wednesday as market chaos related to a spreading banking crisis continued.
The North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate plunged more than four per cent on Wednesday to hover around US$68 per barrel.
That's the lowest crude price since December of 2021.
Oil prices have been falling all week as concerns about the health of the global banking sector mount.
Oil and gas stocks were by far the hardest hit sector on the Toronto Stock Exchange Wednesday, with the S&P/TSX capped energy index losing 5.44 per cent in the day's trading.
Energy analyst Rory Johnston says oil and gas investors are panicking right now, and it will be more clear where crude prices are headed once the dust has had a chance to settle.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 15, 2023.
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