Oil prices edged lower on Tuesday, extending the previous session’s losses after the U.S. state of California tightened its pandemic lockdown through Christmas and COVID-19 cases surged in the United States and Europe.
Brent crude fell 3 cents to $48.76 a barrel by 10:34 a.. EST (1534 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures lost 21 cents to $45.55. Both benchmarks retreated by about 1% on Monday.
Oil prices were briefly buoyed after the world’s first fully-tested COVID-19 vaccine shot was administered to a grandmother in Britain, but investors quickly returned their focus to ebbing fuel demand caused by the pandemic.
“Much of the weakness has associated with some slippage in risk appetite now that the bulk of the favorable vaccine news has been discounted in forcing the market to focus on a significant up-spike in coronavirus case counts,” said Jim Ritterbusch of Ritterbusch and Associates.
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