By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Oil was down Monday morning in Asia, as rising numbers of COVID-19 cases globally stoked fuel demand recovery fears.
Brent oil futures rose 0.45% to $66.47 by 11:32 PM ET (3:32 AM GMT). WTI futures held steady at $63.19 after rolling over to the June 2021 contract on Apr. 18.
"With ... a resurgence of virus cases in India and Japan, topside ambitions continue to run into walls of profit-taking," Axi chief market strategist Stephen Innes told Reuters.
India reported 261,500 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, and currently has the second-highest number of cases globally after the U.S. The number of deaths globally has also surpassed the 3 million mark as of Apr. 19, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Hong Kong on Sunday slapped a two-week ban on flights from India, Pakistan and the Philippines in effect from Apr. 20, as the first two cases of the mutated N501Y COVID-19 strain were reported over the weekend.
Numbers are also rising in Japan, which is on the cusp of a fourth wave of infections, which in turn could impact fuel demand in the world’s third-largest economy.
A slower-than-expected rollout of COVID-19 vaccines is also of concern to investors. Investors are also keeping an eye on the global crude oil supply, with data from the American Petroleum Institute due on Tuesday.