Oil drops as China's rising COVID cases renew fuel demand concerns

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Commodity

Oil

Writer

IPG Staff2

Oil · 18 July, 2022

Oil drops as China's rising COVID cases renew fuel demand concerns

Oil prices fell $1 in early trading in Asia on Monday, cutting into gains from Friday, as attention turned back to rising COVID-19 cases in China and the prospect of lockdowns again reducing fuel demand in the world's top oil importing nation.

Commodity

Oil

Writer

IPG Staff2

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MELBOURNE, July 18 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell $1 in
early trading in Asia on Monday, cutting into gains from Friday, as attention
turned back to rising COVID-19 cases in China and the prospect of lockdowns
again reducing fuel demand in the world's top oil importing nation.

 

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for
August delivery dropped $1.54, or 1.6%, to $96.05 a barrel at 0055 GMT, after
climbing 1.9% on Friday.

 

Brent crude futures for September settlement fell
$1.47, or 1.5%, to $99.69 a barrel, paring a 2.1% gain from Friday.

 

China, the world's second-largest oil consumer, on
Sunday reported 691 new COVID cases for Saturday, up from 547 the previous day,
with locally transmitted cases at the highest since May 23.

 

"Oil is opening the week softer as the market
digests the demand impact of the rise in new COVID cases in China and as the
market cautiously awaits the monumental event risk if Nord Stream 1 gas flow
from Russia to Europe will resume later this week," said Stephen Innes, managing
partner at SPI Asset Management.

 

The Nord Stream 1 pipeline, the biggest system
carrying Russian natural gas to Germany, began annual maintenance on July 11
due to last 10 days. Governments, markets and companies fear the shutdown may
be extended because of the war in Ukraine.

 

Loss of that gas would hit Germany, the world's
fourth-largest economy, hard and heighten the threat of a recession.

 

As expected, U.S. President Joe Biden's trip to Saudi
Arabia failed to yield any pledge from the top OPEC producer to boost oil
supply. That expectation of no extra oil helped push prices up last Friday
ahead of Biden's talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

 

Biden wants Gulf oil producers to step up output to
help tame oil prices and drive down inflation.

 

On Sunday, Amos Hochstein, a senior U.S. State
Department adviser for energy security, said on CBS' Face the Nation that the
trip would result in oil producers taking "a few more steps" in terms
of supply though he did not say which country or countries would boost output.

 








































The next meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, together called OPEC+,
on Aug. 3, will be closely watched as their existing output pact expires in
September.

By Sonali Paul/July 18, 2022 9:04 AM GMT+8