Oil eases as Asia's COVID-19 restrictions dampen sentiment | Reuters

Oil eases as Asia's COVID-19 restrictions dampen sentiment | Reuters

Oil prices drifted lower on Monday after the recovery of a major U.S. pipeline network eased concerns over supply, though fresh restrictions in Asia sparked by surging COVID-19 cases weighed on sentiment.

Gasoline shortages that have plagued the U.S. East Coast slowly eased on Sunday, with 1,000 more stations receiving supplies as Colonial Pipeline’s 5,500-mile (8,900-km) system recovered from a crippling cyberattack.

Brent crude oil futures fell 21 cents, or 0.3%, to $68.50 a barrel as of 0639 GMT, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude eased 9 cents, or 0.1%, to $65.28. Both were in positive territory earlier in the Asian session.

The two contracts jumped nearly 2.5% on Friday and managed to book a small gain last week, marking a third consecutive weekly increase.

“The market has no clear direction today though a new wave of restrictions to curb the pandemic in Asia is chilling the market mood,” said Satoru Yoshida, a commodity analyst with Rakuten Securities.