Oil prices fall more than 2.5%

Oil prices declined more than 2.5% on Monday, after seven straight weeks of gains last week, as a fast-spreading new strain of coronavirus shut down parts of the United Kingdom, fuelling concerns over the speed of demand recovery.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said it would be difficult to control the new strain of the coronavirus before vaccines are distributed on a large scale.

The oil market has been on a bull trend in the past month, ignoring negative factors, amid the optimism that a widening vaccine rollout would revive global growth, but investors’ expectations for 2021 have suddenly vanished, Reuters reported, citing Kazuhiko Saito, chief analyst at commodities broker Fujitomi Co.

In terms of trading, international benchmark Brent crude was down 2.6% at $50.89 per barrel, at 9 am Makkah time.

WTI crude fell 2.8% to $47.75 a barrel.