Sharjah24 – Reuters: Oil prices slipped on Tuesday as a rebound in COVID-19 cases in Europe raised concerns over demand amid expectation that supply will rise, while some in the market still fear the United States may release crude reserves to stop a rally in gasoline prices.
Brent futures fell 9 cents, or 0.1%, to $81.96 a barrel, as of 0105 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slid 10 cents, or 0.1%, to $80.78 a barrel.
Europe has again become the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting some governments to consider re-imposing lockdowns, while China is battling the spread of its biggest outbreak caused by the Delta variant.
"Crude oil fell as President Biden faced increasing pressures to tap U.S. reserves to quell rising gasoline prices," ANZ said in a note. "Sentiment was also hit by new restrictions on travel in Europe."
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) last week cut its world oil demand forecast for the fourth quarter by 330,000 barrels per day (bpd) from last month's forecast, as high energy prices hampered economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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