As coronavirus cases rise, oil prices fall

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Oil prices on world markets fell slightly on Monday due to news of a record daily increase in coronavirus cases worldwide, with a large jump in the US over the weekend, while traders await this week's OPEC+ meeting for further guidance.

The price of a barrel of crude oil on the London market fell by 53 cents to $42.71 during the morning. On the American market, a barrel was traded at a price 64 cents lower, at $39.91.

Market focus is on news of new coronavirus cases worldwide, Hina reports, Index.hr reports.

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Sunday that 230,370 cases of coronavirus infection were recorded worldwide in the last 24 hours, which is a record daily increase since the beginning of the pandemic.

The US is also attracting particular market attention due to a sharp increase in the number of new infections, after Florida recorded its largest daily increase in new infections on Sunday, with more than 15,000.

Traders' focus is also on this week's OPEC Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday to recommend a new level of production cuts. OPEC and its allies, including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, are expected to ease production cuts to 7.7 million barrels per day as global oil demand has recovered.

OPEC+ reduced production by a record 9.7 million barrels per day for a period of three months, starting in May, Reuters recalls.

Among the news important for global markets is also the one from Libya, which on Sunday again halted all oil exports due to force majeure, after the renewed blockade by eastern forces, and this only two days after it exported oil for the first time in six months.

Rising tensions between the US and China regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and other issues are also putting pressure on oil prices. China announced sanctions against US officials on Monday in response to sanctions imposed by Washington on high-ranking Chinese officials, Reuters lists.

Separately, OPEC published on its website that the price of a barrel of the reference basket of its member countries' oil was $43.46 on Friday, which means it increased by 15 cents compared to the previous trading day.