Oil drops on fears of a second wave of coronavirus infections

Oil prices dropped on Monday as several countries reported new cases of infections, raising concerns of a second wave amid a recovery in fuel demand.

Brent crude fell 2.4%, or 93 cents, at $37.80 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude lost 3.7%, or $1.33, at $34.93 per barrel. 

After almost two months without fresh cases, Beijing posted 79 new cases of coronavirus in the last four days. The United States reported 25,000 new cases on Saturday alone.

Meanwhile, Chinese industrial output only rose 4.4% year-on-year in May, suggesting a slow economic recovery. However, Chinese refineries rose 8.2% to 13.6 million bpd year-on-year.

A monitoring panel led by OPEC is set to meet on Thursday to assess the ongoing record production cuts. Major oil producer Iraq agreed with its oil companies to further output cuts in June.