Photo taken on Sept. 27, 2019 shows equipment at Daqing Oilfield in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Photo: Xinhua)

NEW YORK, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices dropped noticeably on Friday as high volatility remains on the market amid multiple headwinds.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April delivery fell 2.69 US dollars to settle at 22.53 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for May delivery was down 1.49 dollars to close at 26.98 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

WTI crude futures settled 29 percent lower for the week, which was the largest weekly percentage decline since the period ending Jan. 18, 1991, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Brent crude saw a weekly loss of 20.3 percent.

Global oil demand is likely to decline further, due to the lockdown in more and more countries around the globe, experts noted.

Adding to this is the spat between major oil producers.

Earlier this month, a failure to strike a deal on oil production cuts between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, led by Russia, had sparked fears of a possible price war.

Saudi Arabia, a key OPEC member, and Russia already announced a significant increase in oil production.