Oil prices tanked today to three-month lows as US bank failures sparked fears of a financial crisis. They were the lowest closes for both benchmarks since Dec. 9 and their biggest one-day percentage declines since early January. In addition, both contracts fell into technically oversold territory for the first time in weeks. “The market is either anticipating a recession in the future or it could be that one or more funds had to raise cash and reduce the risk on their books because they are concerned about liquidity after the bank failures,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group. U.S. consumer prices increased solidly in February as Americans faced persistently higher costs for rents and food, posing a dilemma for the U.S. Federal Reserve whose fight against inflation has been complicated by the collapse of two regional banks. WTI traded down $3.47 or -4.6% to close at $71.33. Brent traded down $3.32 or -4.1% to close at $77.45.