Oil Slumps Below $60 Again. Signs of Weaker Demand in Europe Are to Blame.

Oil Slumps Below $60 Again. Signs of Weaker Demand in Europe Are to Blame.

Text size

Oil prices slumped on Tuesday, with U.S.-traded crude again falling below $60. Signs of weaker fuel demand in Europe appear to be weighing on prices, as a rise in Covid-19 has forced some countries to restrict travel.

"The risks of the Covid-19 pandemic are very real and as most of Europe remains on lockdown ahead of Easter, road fuel demand is set to take a major hit in an otherwise busy season,“ said Bjørnar Tonhaugen, head of oil markets at Rystad Energy.

Brent crude futures were down 4.1%, to $62.00 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude futures, the U.S. benchmark, fell 3.9%, to $59.15 a barrel. Crude had rallied for two days after a long slump last week.

Oil stocks fell, with



Chevron



(CVX) dropping 0.5%.

Oil prices have been boosted by the low supply of crude currently on the market, because of OPEC's decision to maintain production cuts and the slow recovery of U.S. oil production. But for