LONDON (Reuters) - Oil shed over 30 cents to near $78.50 on Wednesday as investors fretted over signs of weakness in any global recovery and waited for U.S. figures later for clearer indications on crude inventories and imports.
Attention across all markets was also focused on U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony to the United States Congress later on Wednesday for any signals on the economy's health and the prospect of interest rate rises.
U.S. crude for April was down 32 cents to $78.54 a barrel by 1153 GMT, while London ICE Brent was down 36 cents at $76.89. U.S. crude touched a low of $78.25 while Brent dipped at one point to $76.63.
