Oil prices are falling amid concerns over spike in the US COVID-19 cases, Reuters reported.
WTI crude CLc1 futures fell 54 cents, or 1.3%, to $40.09 a barrel at 0703 GMT. Brent crude LCOc1 futures declined by 56 cents, or 1.3%, to $42.54.
In the first five days of July, 16 US states confirmed a record increase in cases. Concerns are growing that measures taken to curb the spread of the pandemic will negatively affect fuel demand.
“The potential for demand destruction as lockdown re-instatement looks more likely are combining with concerns about OPEC+ discipline to weigh on oil prices,” said CMC Markets’s Chief Market Strategist Michael McCarthy in Sydney in an email.
According to analysts polled by Reuters, data from the American Petroleum Institute industry group and the US Energy Information Administration are expected to show a 100,000 barrel rise in gasoline stockpiles.
Meanwhile, on Monday, a court ruled to shut down the Dakota Access pipeline, linking the Bakken shale with the Midwest and Gulf Coast regions, over environmental reasons. The pipeline capacity is estimated at 570,000 barrels per day.
