Crude Oil Sharply Lower; Covid Cases, OPEC+ Agreement Weigh By Investing.com – Investing.com

  • Date: 19-Jul-2021
  • Source: Investing.com
  • Sector:Oil & Gas
  • Country:Gulf
  • Who else needs to know?

Crude Oil Sharply Lower; Covid Cases, OPEC+ Agreement Weigh By Investing.com – Investing.com

© Reuters.

By Peter Nurse   



Investing.com -- Crude oil prices slumped Monday, weighed by concerns over mounting Covid-19 cases as well as OPEC+ members patching up their differences and agreeing to additional global supply.



By 9:35 AM ET (1335 GMT), futures traded 3.7% lower at $68.94 a barrel, falling below $70 for the first time in over a month, while the contract fell 3.3% to $71.13.



U.S. Gasoline RBOB Futures were down 2.9% at $2.1872 a gallon.



Covid-19 cases are soaring in Asia, with infections hitting an 11-month high over the weekend in Singapore, Thailand had its highest single-day increase since the pandemic began, while Australia’s major cities are now on lockdown.



However, infections are also growing in the high energy-consuming regions in Europe and America, even with England removing all restrictions Monday. U.S. cases were up 70% last week over the previous week, with outbreaks occurring mainly in parts of the country with low vaccination rates.



Also weighing on the market was the news over the weekend that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had settled their differences over , allowing the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies to come to an