Crude oil prices fell 2.6% on Thursday as investors were concerned that flare-ups of COVID-19 cases in some countries could hurt the demand recovery. The international benchmark Brent crude dropped $1.78 (2.6%) to $66.45 per barrel, while US WTI slipped $1.71 (2.6%) to $63.50 per barrel. Both benchmarks have declined for six straight days and touched their lowest since May in the earlier session.
The highly transmissible delta variant has caused a spike in daily cases, which prompted governments to reimpose strict measures which can hurt fuel consumption. The US reported more than 1,000 coronavirus-related deaths on Tuesday, the highest since March. Adding pressure on prices was the Fed’s signal of easing pandemic-era stimulus this year, which boosted the US dollar to a nine-month high on Thursday.