RIYADH: Oil prices continued to pull back on Thursday, dropping more than 2 percent as investors recalibrated assessments of recession risks and fuel demand amid interest rate hikes in major economies. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures had skidded $2.6, or 2.7 percent, to $103.46 a barrel by 0330 GMT. Brent crude futures slid $2.5, or 2.3 percent, to $109.22 a barrel. Both benchmarks tumbled by as much as $3 a barrel in the early morning of Asian trading, after plunging around 3 percent in the previous session. They are at their lowest levels since mid-May. Russia seeks fuel markets in Africa, Middle East as Europe turns away Russia is increasing gasoline and naphtha supplies to Africa and the Middle East as it struggles to sell fuel in Europe, while Asia is already taking bigger volumes of Russian crude, Refinitiv Eikon data showed and sources said. The development is likely to increase competition for Asian customers between Russia and other big fuel exporters – Saudi Arabia and the US – which are the top three suppliers to Asia. The EU has slowly reduced imports of Russian crude and fuel since March and agreed to a full embargo that will take effect by the end of 2022. Asian buyers have stepped in to rapidly increase purchases of Russian crude, even though Asia is not a natural market for Russian fuel because it refines more oil than it needs and is a net fuel exporter. That makes finding new outlets such as Africa and the Middle East paramount for Russia to protect its global market share and avert a deeper decline in oil exports and output. Norway oil service workers agree to wage deal Two Norwegian labor unions have signed new wage deals with oil service companies, the organizations said on Thursday, preventing a strike among workers. Some 646 members of the Safe and Industri Energi unions had threatened to go on strike at companies such as Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, and Subsea 7 unless a deal was reached.