Oil retreated on Wednesday, cutting some of the sharp gains seen this week, as investors turned their focus to growth problems confronting the U.S. and European economies after the re-election of President Barack Obama.
Henrik Weis | Lifesize | Getty Images
Oil rose sharply on Monday and Tuesday as investors started to anticipate a clear U.S. election result that would end the uncertainty that had contributed to weakness in previous weeks.
Worries about the European economy and whether negotiations in the United States to avert a looming fiscal cliff, which would lead to nearly $600 billion in spending cuts, have now returned to the foreground.
The European Commission said the euro zone economy will barely grow next year, European Central Bank President Draghi said the bank expects the euro zone economy to remain weak "in the near term" and data showed German industrial output fell more than forecast in September.
Front-month Brent futures were down $1.74 at $109.33 per barrel. U.S. crude fell $1.90 to $86.81 per barrel.
Brent was still up 3.7 percent on the week, its biggest such rise since August.
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