Oil falls on demand concerns as China's Beijing expands COVID-19 testing | Reuters

Oil falls on demand concerns as China's Beijing expands COVID-19 testing | Reuters

Oil prices fell on Tuesday as China's capital Beijing expanded its COVID mass testing, heightening demand concerns and outweighing the prospect of supply disruptions.

Brent crude futures were down 56 cents, or 0.5%, at $101.76 a barrel at 0935 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate contracts were down 82 cents, or 0.8%, at $97.72 per barrel.

China's capital Beijing has expanded its COVID-19 mass testing from one district this week to most of the city of nearly 22 million, as the population braced for an imminent lockdown similar to Shanghai's stringent curbs. China is the world's largest crude oil importer. read more

Both oil contracts rose over $1 a barrel earlier in the session following a statement from the People's Bank of China that it will step up monetary policy support to the real economy.