Oil prices settled lower on Wednesday on fuel demand worries due to an uptick in coronavirus cases, with emerging hotspots in China and the United States, and as US crude stocks grew again, taking commercial inventories to another all-time high.
Brent crude settled down 25 cents, or 0.6 per cent, at US$40.71 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate fell 42 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to US$37.96 a barrel. US crude inventories rose to a record high last week for a second straight week, reaching more than 539 million barrels. Conversely, distillate stockpiles fell following weeks of significant builds, government data showed.
The World Health Organization said it would update its guidelines after results showed the corticosteroid medication dexamethasone cut death rates among severely ill Covid-19 patients. However, the virus is spreading in parts of the United States, while flights were cancelled and schools were shut in Beijing to head off a new virus outbreak in the Chinese capital.