Oil slides 1% on renewed fears over toll from coronavirus - Reuters

Oil slides 1% on renewed fears over toll from coronavirus - Reuters:

Oil prices fell about 1% on Friday on renewed concerns about crude demand being pinched by the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak, while OPEC and allied producers appeared to be in no rush to curb output.

The latest signs of infections outside the Hubei province epicenter in China spurred a selloff across financial markets, as G20 policymakers traveled to Saudi Arabia for talks on the global economy.

Brent crude LCOc1 tumbled as more than 2% at one point before settling down 81 cents, or 1.4%, at $58.50 a barrel. U.S. crude futures CLc1 settled 50 cents lower, or 0.9%, at $53.38.

Both benchmarks were on track for their second consecutive weekly rise, with Brent up 2% and U.S. crude rising 2.6%, as fears over the virus’ impact on demand eased earlier in the week and after a smaller-than-expected U.S. crude stock build.