Oil prices fell for a third day early on yesterday as concerns about
demand amid surging Delta COVID-19 variant continue to weigh on
market sentiment.
Before the weekly EIA inventory report, Brent Crude was trading down
by 1.60 per cent at $71.25 while WTI Crude was down below $70 per
barrel again, after dipping briefly below that mark on Tuesday.
Soaring COVID cases with the fast-spreading Delta variant were front
and center in the oil market yesterday, trumping geopolitical tensions
with incidents with oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman.
Travel restrictions and the spread of the Delta variant became a source
of concern for the oil market that fuel and industrial demand in China,
the world’s largest oil importer, could take a hit.
COVID is also resurging in the biggest economy, the United States, and
many other countries from Europe to Southeast Asia and Australia.
