Oil costs slide as coronavirus lockdown considerations outweigh Suez Canal disruptions

Oil costs skidded round 2% as gasoline demand considerations re-emerged alongside recent coronavirus pandemic lockdowns, trimming in a single day features spurred by the grounding of a large container ship blocking crude shipments via the Suez Canal.
Brent crude futures slid $1.14, or 1.8%, to $63.27 a barrel at 0139 GMT, after leaping 6% in a single day. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped by $1.27, or 2.1%, to $59.91 a barrel, after climbing 5.9% in a single day.
Prices had tumbled earlier within the week on worries about tighter pandemic curbs in Europe and vaccine delays stalling progress in demand for gasoline, however sharply reversed on Wednesday with the grounded ship within the Suez Canal probably blocking 10 tankers carrying 13 million barrels of oil.
The market was additionally helped on Wednesday by knowledge displaying US gasoline demand improved and refinery run charges had been selecting up.
However, these elements supporting the market had been short-lived, at the same time as tugs struggled to free the stranded Suez Canal ship.
“As much as those (Suez blockage and US demand) factors were there, it doesn’t really erase the demand concerns questions that were asked earlier this week,” mentioned Commonwealth Bank commodities analyst Vivek Dhar .”And whereas the main focus was on Europe, we even have rising COVID-19 instances in locations like India and Brazil, growing economies that are actually essential to the story for sustainable oil demand progress.”
India on Wednesday reported its highest one-day tally of latest infections and deaths and mentioned a brand new “double mutant” variant of the coronavirus had been discovered.
Given the persistent demand worries and falling costs, expectations are rising that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, collectively referred to as OPEC+, will roll over their present provide curbs into May at a gathering scheduled for April 1, 4 OPEC+ sources instructed Reuters.