Oil prices are falling as demand fears increase due to the increase in the number of Covid-19 cases
Oil prices fell on Monday, as increased cases of Coronavirus in India and other countries raised fears of stronger measures to contain the pandemic that would affect economic activity and demand for basic commodities such as crude.
Brent crude was down 23 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $ 66.54 a barrel by 0426 GMT, after rising 6 percent last week.
The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 27 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $ 62.96 a barrel, after rising 6.4 percent last week.
“Progress in vaccination campaigns in developed markets can be seen in road traffic levels, but the rise in the number of cases reverses the path of recovery in emerging countries,” such as India and Brazil, ANZ Research said in today’s report.
India recorded a record increase in Coronavirus cases, which reached 273,810 today, which raises the total number of infections to just over 15 million, which makes it the second most affected country in the flag after the United States, which recorded more than 31 million infections.
The number of deaths from Covid-19 in India rose to an unprecedented level of 1619, to nearly 180,000.
On Sunday evening, the authorities in Hong Kong said in a statement that the country will suspend flights from India, Pakistan and the Philippines from April 20 due to cases of infection with the Coronavirus.
A monthly poll conducted by Reuters concluded that Japanese companies believe that the third largest economy in the world will experience a fourth round of infections with the Coronavirus, while many of them are preparing for further damage to activity.
Cases of Covid-19 in Japan are much lower than in many other major economies, but the responses of companies in the survey indicated that fears of a new wave of infections are growing rapidly.
Some companies said in the survey that the slow activity of distributing vaccines compared to it in the rest of the other countries in the Group of Seven developed countries and the lack of feeling of crisis among the public will cause a new wave of infections.
