
WTI Crude Oil Weakens Over Fears of Second Wave of Coronavirus
As a new trading week gets underway, WTI crude oil prices have slipped lower as markets worry about the possibility of a second wave of coronavirus cases amid an increase in the number of infections across the US as the economy reopens. At the time of writing, WTI crude oil is trading at around $35.24 per barrel.
Over the previous week, WTI crude oil prices lost around 8% of their value, posting their first weekly loss since April. Oil markets are trading under pressure over a rise in coronavirus cases across the US and the rest of the world, even as countries emerge resume economic activity, which raises fears about further lockdowns.
Crude oil prices had received support in recent weeks over hopes of a pick-up in demand as economies emerged out of lockdown, while additional supply cuts by OPEC+ countries also drove prices higher. Later this week, a monitoring panel led by OPEC is scheduled to meet and assess countries’ adherence to the ageed upon supply cuts.
Back in April, OPEC and its allies had agreed to curb crude production by nearly 10 million barrels during May and June, which was recently extended until the end of July. One of the members, Iraq, is yet to comply fully with the deeper cuts.