Oil prices drop amid COVID news in Asia

Oil prices are falling on April 8 morning as investors fear the impact of rising coronavirus cases in Asia on the demand, according to trading data, Report informs referring to Prime agency.

As of 8:43 (GMT+4), the price of June futures for North Sea Brent oil blend decreased by 0.4 percent, to $62.91, and for May futures for WTI oil - by 0.42 percent to $59.52 per barrel.

Despite upbeat expectations from investors about the outlook for the economy this year, oil prices remain vulnerable to news of the continued rise in coronavirus infection cases, particularly in Asia. The most difficult situation remains in India, one of the largest oil importers.

“Prices are likely to be pressured in the short term as the worries surrounding the resurgence of Covid-19 are not going away anytime soon,” said Will Sungchil Yun, a senior commodities analyst at VI Investment Corp. in Seoul.

Investors are also reacting to the controversial data from the US Department of Energy on oil reserves in the country. The indicator has decreased over the past week by 3.5 million barrels, to 498.3 million, given the decrease forecast of 1.4 million.

At the same time, gasoline reserves increased by 4 million barrels to 234.6 million. Experts, on the contrary, predicted a gasoline decline of 0.2 million barrels. This increase in inventories may indicate a decrease in demand for gasoline and, indirectly, for oil.