Weakened Demand Cause Oil Prices To Fall – 21 October, 2020

A spike in COVID-19 cases and weakened demand as shown in  U.S. oil inventory figures caused prices to dip on Wednesday. Brent crude futures were 3.3% or $1.43 lower to $41.73 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were 4% or $1.67 lower at $40.03 per barrel. In the week of October 16, crude inventories were down 1 million barrels to 488.1 million barrels. Demand has been down 13% for the year, pressured by the resurgence of coronavirus cases around the world. In an effort to curb global supply, OPEC members agreed to cut production in January from 7.7 million barrels per day to 5.7 million barrels per day.