MELBOURNE/SINGAPORE- Oil prices fell around 1 percent on Thursday as a spike in new coronavirus cases in China and the United States renewed fears that a recovery in fuel demand could stall, even as lockdowns ease.
Brent crude futures fell 0.9 percent, or 37 cents, to $40.34 a barrel, having fallen 25 cents in the previous session.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped 1.4 percent, or 52 cents, to $37.44 a barrel, adding to a loss of 42 cents on Wednesday.
“The market continues to balance re-opening optimism with unknowns around the economic uncertainties from a secondary outbreak of the virus,” said Stephen Innes, market strategist at AxiTrader.
