Oil falls amid Covid-19 surge in India, other countries

Oil prices were lower on Monday as rising coronavirus infections in India and other countries prompted concerns that stronger measures to contain the pandemic will hit economic activity, along with demand for commodities such as crude.

Brent crude was down 23 cents, or 0.3%, at $66.54 a barrel by 0426 GMT, after rising 6% last week. U.S. oil was down 27 cents, or 0.2%, at $62.96 a barrel, having gained 6.4% last week.

“The progress of vaccination drives in the developed markets can be seen in road traffic levels, but resurging case numbers have reversed the recovery in the emerging countries,” such as India and Brazil, said ANZ Research in a report on Monday.