Oil falls as virus resurgence fears weigh on fuel demand recovery
Oil prices eased on Friday, reversing earlier gains, as the resurgence of the coronavirus globally and in the United States, the world’s largest oil consumer, stoked worries that a fuel demand recovery could stall, Reuters reports.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures were down 29 cents, or 0.7%, at $42.85 a barrel as of 0339 GMT, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures fell 31 cents, or 0.8%, to $40.34 a barrel.
Both benchmarks rose more than 2% on Thursday, buoyed by stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data and a fall in U.S. crude inventories. For the week, Brent is up 4.4% and WTI is up 4.8%.
Increases in the daily cases of the coronavirus, however, globally and in the United States pressured prices. New U.S. COVID-19 cases rose by more than 50,000 on Thursday, setting a record for a third consecutive day, according to a Reuters tally.