FX.co ★ Oil prices are down again

World oil prices declined steadily this morning despite the sustained optimism of market participants brought by the rapid pace of vaccinations in Europe and the United States. Apparently, the constant increase of COVID-19 incidence heightened the fears of investors, which led to the drop in oil demand.

As a result, June futures for Brent dipped in ICE, falling by 0.24% to $ 62.80 per barrel. Last Friday, it closed at $ 62.95 per barrel.

May futures for WTI, in the meantime, decreased by 0.22% in the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and hit $ 59.19 per barrel. On Friday, it was trading around $ 59.32 per barrel.

All in all, last week, Brent lost 2.9% in price, while WTI oil lost 3.5%.

Going back to vaccinations, leading European countries - Germany, Italy and France - are reported to have accelerated the pace of injections.

But experts warn that the oil market is still in search of a strong positive momentum, fearing that the coronavirus pandemic will significantly restrain the recovery in oil demand.

In fact, recovery is especially acute today in the Asian region, where there is a sharp increase in COVID-19 incidence. The most tense and difficult situation remains in India, as more than 13 million cases of coronavirus have been recorded over the entire time. It forced the government to introduce new and stricter quarantine measures.

Aside from that, investors are also monitoring the progress of negotiations on the Iranian nuclear deal. Dialogue should resume this week, and if an agreement is reached, sanctions on the Iranian oil sector may be lifted, which, in turn, will lead to an inflow of Iranian oil to the market.

As for internal statistics from the United States, operating oil and gas drilling rigs in the country increased by two units over the past week, totaling to up to 432 rigs.