On Wednesday, oil prices continued to fall after the nosedive in the previous session due to the mounting worries on global demand affected by the resurging cases of coronavirus.
By 06.56 GMT, Brent crude oil futures slipped by 0.5% or 19 cents to USD39.59/barrel, following Tuesday’s fall by more than 5% and posted the first level below USD40/barrel since June. US WTI edged down by 0.7% or 24 cents to USD36.52/barrel, while in the previous session it slumped by almost 8%.
Both benchmarks have been lingering around the lowest levels in three months.
Coronavirus cases are rising in India, Great Britain, Spain, and several parts of the US, threatening to dampen the already slow global economic recovery and slash fuel demand.
On a separate note, China’s August factory gate prices dropped for the seventh month in a row, at the slowest annual pace since March. The reading still suggests that the Chinese industries have been continuing the recovery.
Outlook for oil demand remains cloudy, as even when the record crude output cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) have helped to buoy prices, the pale economic data from around the world still come almost on a daily basis.
