Oil Slips Toward $59 as Investors Weigh Near-Term Demand Outlook - Bloomberg

Oil Slips Toward $59 as Investors Weigh Near-Term Demand Outlook - Bloomberg

• West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery fell 27 cents to $59.05 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 7:26 a.m. London time after slipping 0.5% on Friday.
• Brent for June settlement slid 0.5% to $62.63 on the ICE Futures Europe exchange after falling 0.4% in the previous session.

Oil dropped toward $59 a barrel as investors assessed the near-term demand outlook amid a Covid-19 flare-up in some regions, while a rising dollar reduced the appeal of commodities priced in the currency.

Futures in New York lost 0.5% on Monday after falling 3.5% last week. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told CBS’s “60 Minutes” that the U.S. economy was poised for stronger growth, but he cautioned that the virus still remains a threat. That’s been highlighted in other regions including parts of Europe, while a second wave in India is overwhelming the health system.

Indian gasoline consumption, meanwhile, rose in March to the highest level in four months as millions of people favored cars over public transport to avoid being infected by the coronavirus. Overall oil-product demand fell, however.