Oil prices mixed as demand concerns outweigh output cut expectations

Oil prices were mixed on Thursday as concerns about falling demand caused by travel restrictions tied to the coronavirus outbreak in China, the world’s biggest oil importer, outweighed expectations of supply cuts from major producers.

Brent crude fell 6 cents, or 0.1 per cent, to $55.73 per barrel at 0735 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was up 5 cents, or 0.1 per cent, to $51.22 a barrel. Brent rose 3.2 per cent on Wednesday, while WTI gained 2.5 per cent as a slowdown in new Chinese coronavirus cases boosted expectations of a demand recovery.

However, Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, said on Thursday the number of new confirmed cases there jumped by 14,840 on February 12 to 48,206, and deaths climbed by a daily record of 242 to 1,310, reflecting changes to the diagnostic methodology.