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

US benchmark WTI was up almost three percent, after rising 20 percent earlier in the session.

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.

Oil storage tanks stand at the RN-Tuapsinsky refinery, operated by Rosneft Oil Co. in Tuapse, Russia. (Bloomberg file Photo)

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.