Oil prices mixed as demand concerns outweigh output cut expectations - Reuters

Oil prices mixed as demand concerns outweigh output cut expectations - Reuters:

Oil prices were mixed on Thursday as concerns about falling demand caused by travel restrictions tied to the coronavirus outbreak in China, the world’s biggest oil importer, outweighed expectations of supply cuts from major producers.

Brent crude LCOc1 fell 6 cents, or 0.1%, to $55.73 per barrel at 0735 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) CLc1 was up 5 cents, or 0.1%, to $51.22 a barrel. Brent rose 3.2% on Wednesday while WTI gained 2.5% as a slowdown in new Chinese coronavirus cases boosted expectations of a demand recovery. 


However, Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak, said on Thursday the number of new confirmed cases there jumped by 14,840 on Feb. 12 to 48,206, and deaths climbed by a daily record of 242 to 1,310, reflecting changes to the diagnostic methodology.

Oil demand in China, the world’s second-largest crude consumer, has plunged because of travel restrictions to and from the country and quarantines within it. Another Chinese oil refiner China National Chemical Corp said on Thursday it would close a 100,000 barrel-per-day plant and cut processing at two other amid falling fuel demand.