Oil prices steady as virus deaths rise, demand worries persist | Reuters

Oil prices steady as virus deaths rise, demand worries persist | Reuters

Oil prices were little changed on Tuesday as coronavirus deaths globally continued to rise and weighed on the demand outlook, but losses were capped by reports of a blast in Saudi Arabia.

Brent crude ended the session up 3 cents, or 0.05%, at $55.91 while U.S. crude fell 16 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at $52.61.

Indonesia, the world’s fourth-most-populous country, surpassed a million confirmed coronavirus cases on Tuesday while the death toll in Britain passed 100,000 people as the government battled to speed up vaccination delivery and keep variants of the virus at bay.

The number of cases in the United States crossed 25 million on Sunday, a Reuters tally showed.

Further dampening bullish sentiment, U.S. Democrats are still trying to convince Republican lawmakers of the need for more stimulus, raising questions over when and in what form a package will be approved.