Oil Sees Massive Drop, US Futures Flat As March Nears End: What's Weighing On The Market?

Oil futures dropped in the early hours of Thursday as the United States considered releasing millions of barrels from the country’s strategic reserve over several months.

Oil Drops: ICE Brent Crude May 22 futures traded 3.9% lower at $109.02 at press time, while WTI Crude May 22 futures were down 4.9% at $102.55.

Oil prices dropped more than $5 per barrel on Thursday after news emerged that the U.S. was considering releasing up to 180 million barrels from its strategic petroleum reserve over several months, according to a Reuters report. 

President Joe Biden is expected to address the administration's actions surrounding energy on Thursday, as per Reuters.

Stock Futures Trade Flat: Stock futures were relatively unchanged ahead of the last trading day of March. Dow Futures were up 0.05% at 35,134. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures rose 0.13% and 0.37%, respectively, to 4,602 and 15,127 at press time.

In after-hours trading, Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares traded 0.2% higher at $178.05, while Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares were up 0.2% at $1,096. The SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY) was up 0.02% at $458.92, according to Benzinga Pro data. 

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