Oil falls more than 2% amid demand concerns

Oil prices declined more than 2% on Thursday driven by demand recovery concerns amid renewed coronavirus restrictions in several countries, and as authorities worked to move a stranded container ship blocking crude oil carriers in the Suez Canal.

Vortexa, an oil analysis company, said 10 oil tankers carrying 13 million barrels that may be affected by the disruption of navigation in the canal.

However, according to analysts, such supportive factors were likely to be overshadowed by growing concerns about global demand. “As much as those factors were there, it doesn’t really erase the demand concerns questions that were asked earlier this week,” Reuters reported, citing Commonwealth Bank commodities analyst Vivek Dhar.

In terms of trading, international benchmark Brent crude was down 2.1% at $63.09 per barrel, at 9 am Makkah time.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 2.3% to $59.76 per barrel.