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Oil fell more than $4 a barrel overnight as traders focused on the prospect of a recession in major economies this year, particularly amid rising COVID-19 cases in China.

According to Reuters, the price of Brent crude has fallen 9.4 percent in the past two days, the biggest two-day drop at the start of the year since January 1991.

Overnight, Brent futures traded at $77.84 a barrel and were down $4.26, or 5.2 percent. US crude was trading at $72.84 a barrel, down $4.09, or 5.3 percent.

“Crude oil is trading lower on concerns over China COVID-19 and the Federal Reserve forcing a global recession…both requiring destructive events,” said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho in New York.

The decline in crude oil prices comes after OPEC oil production surged last month.

Oil cartel OPEC+ recently agreed to cut production markets to “support the market,” but OPEC pumped 29 million barrels a day in December, up 120,000 barrels a day from November.

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