Oil bounces as investors hunt bargains; virus fears cap gains

Oil rose on Tuesday as investors snapped up bargains after crude benchmarks dropped almost 4% 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 February 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.