Oil prices continue to fall

On Monday, the oil market shows a decline: the cost of October futures for Brent fell to $67.61 per barrel, WTI futures for September fell to $65.14 per barrel. Both assets managed to recover somewhat during the day: Brent – up to $ 68.91, WTI – up to $ 66.56 per barrel.

It should be noted that at the end of the previous week, prices showed the most significant drop in several months: futures lost about 6-7%.

The oil market continues to be pressured by growing concerns about the rapid spread of the new Covid delta strain, which could weaken global fuel demand. For example, China, the world's largest importer of hydrocarbons, is imposing severe travel restrictions and extending quarantine measures as cases increase. The United States is also seeing an increase in new infections.

The lack of progress in the fight against the pandemic is fueling fears over how the oil market will cope with the next wave of coronavirus.

Additional pressure on oil was exerted by a strong report on the US labor market and the subsequent strengthening of the US dollar. Unemployment in the country fell to 5.4% in July from 5.9% in June, while analysts had expected unemployment to drop to 5.7%. The number of people employed in non-agricultural sectors of the economy increased by 943 thousand instead of the expected 870 thousand.