Crude oil bounces as investors hunt bargains; coronavirus fears cap gains

TOKYO: Oil rose on Tuesday as investors snapped up bargains after crude benchmarks dropped almost 4 per cent in the previous session, but fears that the spreading coronavirus could wreak far greater economic damage than initially thought capped gains.

Brent crude rose 29 cents, or 0.5 per cent, to $56.59 a barrel by 0212 GMT, after slipping 3.8 per cent on Monday, the largest single-day price fall since Feb. 3. US crude futures climbed 22 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to $51.65, recovering from a 3.7 per cent drop in the previous session.

“WTI has regained some ground as investors looked for bargains and as the (US) benchmark slipped neared a key support level of $50 per barrel,” said Satoru Yoshida, a commodity analyst with Rakuten Securities.