NEW YORK: Oil prices fell by about 1% in volatile trade on Thursday on worries that slow economic growth in Europe could reduce energy demand, as uncertainty around conflict in the Middle East kept traders on edge ahead of the US presidential election.

Brent futures fell 54 cents, or 0.7%, to $74.42 a barrel by 11:48 a.m. EDT (1548 GMT), while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slipped 59 cents, or 0.8%, to $70.18.

Earlier in the session, both crude benchmarks were trading up over $1 a barrel. “(The) energy complex continues to zig and zag as Middle East risk premium expands and contracts almost daily,” analysts at energy advisory firm Ritterbusch and Associates said in a note. Since Iran fired missiles at Israel on Oct. 1, Brent crude surged 8% during the week ended Oct. 4 on worries Israel would attack Iran’s oil infrastructure. It fell 8% during the week ended Oct. 18 on reports Israel would not hit energy infrastructure, easing fears of supply disruptions.

In Europe, Euro zone business activity stalled again this month, remaining in contractionary territory as demand from both home and abroad fell despite firms barely increasing their prices, a survey showed on Thursday.

In the UK, optimism among British firms has sunk, according to two surveys published on Thursday, six days before finance minister Rachel Reeves tries to chart a way between raising taxes and boosting growth in the new government’s first budget.

In the US, new applications for US unemployment aid unexpectedly fell last week, but the number of people collecting benefits in mid-October was the highest in nearly three years, indicating it was becoming harder for those losing jobs to land new positions.