Oil prices ease as pandemic outweighs Chinese and US data

Oil prices dipped on Thursday as bullish signals from Chinese import data and US crude oil stocks draws were outweighed by surging coronavirus cases in Europe and new lockdowns in China.

Brent crude oil futures fell 36 cents to $55.70 a barrel by 0917 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped 26 cents to $52.65.

Brent’s six-month backwardation, whereby contracts for later delivery are cheaper, fell to its lowest since Jan. 5, indicating bullish sentiment easing.