On Thursday, WTI crude oil prices are trading bearish as fears of a second wave of coronavirus dominate the market sentiment amid a spike in new cases across China and the US. At the time of writing, WTI crude oil is trading at around $37.44 per barrel.

The recent optimism surrounding reopening of economies and improvement in oil demand has evaporated as the number of new coronavirus cases continue to climb higher. China recently reported a fresh outbreak of cases in Beijing while some US states also reported a record increase in the number of infections.

This has dented the sentiment in oil markets and sent crude oil prices lower as traders worry that the second wave of the pandemic could force countries to reimpose lockdown measures, which could hurt economic recovery. With economic recovery delayed further in case the world goes back into lockdown, the demand for oil is likely to fall once again just as it shows signs of improving lately.

WTI crude oil prices also came under pressure after the EIA reported a build in US crude stockpiles over the previous week. According to the EIA report which released on Wednesday, crude inventories in the US increased by 1.2 million barrels during the past week, instead of falling by 150k barrels as economists had forecast.