Oil falls $1/bbl as coronavirus, floods threaten demand | Reuters

Oil falls $1/bbl as coronavirus, floods threaten demand | Reuters

Oil prices fell nearly $1 on Monday as concerns about fuel demand from the spread of COVID-19 variants, as well as floods in China, offset expectations of tight supplies through the rest of the year.

Brent crude futures for September fell 95 cents, or 1.3%, to $73.15 a barrel by 0627 GMT while U.S. Texas Intermediate crude was at $71.11 a barrel, down 96 cents. Earlier, both contracts dipped just over $1.

Coronavirus cases continued to rise over the weekend with some countries posting record daily increases and extending lockdown measures that could slow oil demand. China, the world's largest crude importer, has also seen a rise in COVID-19 cases while the nation battled severe floods and a typhoon in central and eastern parts of the country. read more

Also, Beijing's crackdown on the misuse of import quotas combined with the impact of high crude prices could see China's growth in oil imports sink to the lowest in two decades in 2021, despite an expected rise in refining rates in the second half. read more

"The delta variant is still spreading and China has started to clamp down on teapots so their import growth would not be that much," said Avtar Sandu, a senior commodities manager at Singapore's Phillips Futures, referring to independent refiners.