Oil prices fall more than 2% as China sticks to strict zero-Covid policy
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices fell more than 2% at the start of Asia trade on Monday after Chinese officials on the weekend reiterated their commitment to a strict COVID containment approach, dashing hopes of an oil demand rebound at the world’s top crude importer.
Brent crude futures dropped $1.58, or 1.6%, to $96.99 a barrel by 2336 GMT, after hitting as low as $96.50 earlier. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $90.84 a barrel, down $1.77, or 1.9%, dropping to a session-low of $90.40 a barrel earlier in the session.
“Oil prices dropped sharply as the Chinese officials vowed to stick to the COVID-zero policy while infected cases climbed in China, which may cause more restrictions measures, darkening the demand outlook,” CMC Markets analyst Tina Teng said.
