On Friday, oil prices again slipped following the sharp fall in the previous day and are set to post a weekly decline, weighed down by the soaring new cases of coronavirus in the US.
By 01.14 GMT, Brent crude oil futures edged down by 0.2% or 7 cents to USD42/28/barrel, following the fall of more than 2% on Thursday. US WTI also posted a fall by 0.3% or 13 cents to USD39.49/barrel after falling by 3% yesterday.
Both benchmarks are set to post a weekly decline, 1% for Brent, and close to 3% for US WTI.
Record daily increases in new cases of coronavirus in the US this week dampened the recovery prospects, with US recording 56,000 new cases on Thursday. The figure masks the third straight days of new infections exceeding 55,000.
The renewed outbreaks of the virus in many parts of the world have clouded the outlook for recovery in the next few months, note Capital Economics.
To aggravate the situation, US crude oil stockpiles soared by almost 6 million barrels in the week ended July 3, contrasting with analysts’ expectations.
