Oil falls below $57 on coronavirus hit to demand, OPEC+ delay - Reuters

Oil falls below $57 on coronavirus hit to demand, OPEC+ delay - Reuters:

Oil fell to below $57 a barrel on Tuesday, pressured by concerns over the impact of the coronavirus outbreak in China on oil demand and a lack of any further action by OPEC and its allies to support the market.

Forecasters including the International Energy Agency have cut 2020 oil demand estimates because of the virus. Global experts say it is too early to judge if the outbreak is being contained, despite a fall in new cases in mainland China.

Brent crude LCOc1 was down $1.04 at $56.63 a barrel by 0940 GMT. The contract had rallied in the previous five sessions. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 fell 83 cents to $51.22.

“Oil prices remain heavy (under pressure) as energy traders may have been overly optimistic as to the crude demand impact of the coronavirus, and on fading optimism that OPEC+ will come through with deeper production cuts in March,” Edward Moya, senior market analyst at broker OANDA, said.