WTI Crude Oil Prices Under Pressure – Europe Lockdowns in Focus
WTI crude oil is having a bearish start to the new week, with prices on the slide amid escalating worries about the impact of the fresh round of lockdowns across Europe on oil demand and prospects of economic recovery in the region. At the time of writing, WTI crude oil is trading at around $61.13 per barrel.
After posting a fall of over 6% through the past week, WTI crude oil prices are already down by more than 1% in early trading on Monday. The market sentiment among oil traders soured after European countries went back into lockdown mode to contain the third wave of the pandemic even as their vaccine distribution programs faced challenges.
According to latest news reports, Germany – Eurozone’s most important economy, is expected to extend its lockdown for the fifth month. Meanwhile, France has imposed a partial lockdown since late last week while Poland and Italy have also announced restrictions to curb the spread of infection.
WTI crude oil prices are also facing downward pressure on the back of a rise in oil and gas drilling rigs amid increasing hopes among US drillers for improvement in oil demand. However, uncertainty about economic conditions still persist even as supply looks set to increase in the near term, which is adding to more fears of oversupply in the oil markets.
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