On Monday, oil prices went down as the condition of the coronavirus pandemic all over the world has started degrading, increasing fear for fuel demand.
By 00.47 GMT, Brent crude oil futures slid down by 0.2% or 10 cents to USD43.04/barrel while the US WTI slipped by 0.2% or 6 cents to USD40.53/barrel.
According to analyst Stephen Innes of AxiCorp, the persistent rise of global daily coronavirus cases and the unseen result of most of the US states in bending and containing the curve, along with the concerns regarding the post-pandemic recovery pace are weighing the outlook for oil.
Even when fuel demand has roughly recovered from the plummet in April, the consumption is still well below the level pre-pandemic and as US infections rise, the country’s gasoline demand is dropping some more.
From the other side of the world, Japan’s oil imports slumped by 14.7% year-on-year in June, while the country’s exports diminished by a double-digit rate for the fourth consecutive month as the global demand was dented by the pandemic.
Data showed on Friday that the US drillers slashed the operating oil and natural gas rig count to a record for the 11th straight weeks.
