Oil drops as coronavirus resurgence threatens recovery

Oil prices fell on Monday on fears that a continued rise in coronavirus cases could stall fuel demand recovery. 

Brent crude fell 0.2%, or 10 cents, at $43.04 per barrel. U.S. oil also lost 0.2%, or 6 cents, at $40.53 per barrel.

The current tally of global coronavirus infections rose to 14 million with total deaths nearly at 602,000. 

While fuel demand recovered from a 30% fall in April due to the lockdowns, usage remains below pre-pandemic levels. U.S. retail gasoline demand is also dropping again due to the coronavirus resurgence.

Japan’s oil imports dropped 14.7% in June year-on-year. However, that remained small compared to the 25% drop in May.

Still, exports from Japan suffered a double-digit decline for the fourth straight month as the pandemic impacted global demand.