Oil prices edged lower on Tuesday, extending the previous session’s losses after the US state of California tightened its pandemic lockdown through Christmas and Covid-19 cases surged in the United States and Europe.
Brent crude fell 3 cents to $48.76 a barrel by 10:34 a.. EST (1534 GMT), while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures lost 21 cents to $45.55. Both benchmarks retreated by about 1% on Monday.
Oil prices were briefly buoyed after the world’s first fully-tested Covid-19 vaccine shot was administered to a grandmother in Britain, but investors quickly returned their focus to ebbing fuel demand caused by the pandemic.
