Brent crude futures fell to $64.78
The price of oil fell on Monday as Covid-19 cases surged India, one of the world’s biggest oil importers.
Ahead of a planned increase in OPEC+ oil output in May, investors have now adjusted their positions.
Brent crude futures fell to $64.78, down 2.01%, by 0900 GMT on Friday, while West Texas intermediate (WTI) crude futures was down by 0.92% to $61.51 a barrel.
Both benchmarks fell by around 1% the previous week.
“Market sentiment was dented on worries that surging number of COVID-19 cases in some countries, especially in India, will slash fuel demand,” Kazuhiko Saito, chief analyst at commodities broker Fujitomi Co.
India’s prime minister Narendra Modi encouraged citizens to get vaccinated and to be cautious as the nation set a new record for the most Covid-19 infections in a day.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia (OPEC+), surprised the market at its April 1 meeting by agreeing to ease production curbs by 350,000 barrels per day (bpd) in May, another 350,000 bpd in June and a further 400,000 bpd or so in July.
The producer group will hold a largely technical meeting this week, with major changes to policy unlikely, Russian Deputy Prime Minister and OPEC+ sources said last week.