Oil falls as coronavirus cases pick up in China, U.S. - Reuters

Oil falls as coronavirus cases pick up in China, U.S. - Reuters:

Oil prices fell on Wednesday as investors worried about fuel demand due to fresh outbreaks of COVID-19, though prices drew some support after U.S. stocks of diesel fuel fell for the first time in weeks and U.S. oil production dropped sharply.

Brent crude LCOc1 was down 31 cents, or 0.8%, at $40.65 a barrel at 10:50 EST (1450 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) CLc1 fell 43 cents, or 1.1%, to $37.95 a barrel.

U.S. crude inventories rose by 1.2 million barrels, but distillate stockpiles USOILD=ECI, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 1.4 million barrels following weeks of significant builds as refiners continued to blend jet fuel into their distillate pool, EIA data showed on Wednesday.