Oil dips after two-day rally with Covid lingering over market

Oil dips after two-day rally with Covid lingering over market

Oil dipped after the biggest two-day gain since November, with the fast-spreading delta variant of the virus still clouding the demand outlook. Futures in New York edged toward $67 a barrel after advancing more than 8 per cent over the previous two sessions. Top crude importer China has brought its latest outbreak under control, but Covid-19 continues to spread across other regions, prompting restrictions on mobility. The dollar also rose for the first time in three days, making commodities priced in the currency more expensive. Oil’s red-hot rally over the first half of the year has been interrupted by delta, although banks such as Goldman Sachs Group and UBS Group see prices recovering through the end of 2021 as the market tightens. Investors will be watching for any change to OPEC+ output policy when the group meets Sept. 1. “Oil’s rebound has been swift and quick,” said Howie Lee, an economist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. in Singapore. “The recent correction, however, has been one of the steepest this year, highlighting the impact of the delta variant on oil demand.” The outbreak that’s placed Sydney into lockdown for more than two months shows no sign of slowing, with a new daily