Brent crude falls as China cuts refining rates on virus outbreak - Reuters

Brent crude falls as China cuts refining rates on virus outbreak - Reuters:

Brent crude prices fell on Monday to their lowest in more than a year, dragged down by worries about lower demand in China, the world’s largest oil importer, following a coronavirus outbreak there.

There are signs fuel demand has plunged in China as airlines have canceled flights to halt the spread of the coronavirus and as provinces delay the reopening of factories after the Lunar New Year holiday. Supply chains across the world’s second-largest economy and crude consumer have been disrupted, prompting its biggest refiner Sinopec to cut output by about 12% this month.

Brent crude was at $56.44 a barrel by 0750 GMT, down 18 cents, or 0.3%, Prices dropped by as much as 2.1% to $55.42, the lowest since Jan. 4, 2019.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 10 cents to $51.66 a barrel, after earlier hitting a session low of $50.42, down 2.2% to the lowest since Jan. 14, 2019.