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Oil prices fell on Tuesday, August 17th, paring early gains, as fears of slowing demand for crude amid rising delta infections outweighed expectations that major oil producers would not boost supplies soon.
Brent crude fell 51 cents, or 0.7%, to $69 a barrel, after reaching $69.77 earlier in the session.
US West Texas Intermediate crude lost 52 cents, or 0.8%, to $66.77 a barrel, after hitting $67.66 earlier.
Japan is set to extend the state of emergency in the capital, Tokyo, and other regions until September 12 and expand restrictions to seven other regions, while the authorities in Australia today expected a significant increase in injuries in Sydney despite the long closure.
On Monday, Brent fell 1.5% and US crude fell 1.7%.
Prices recovered in early trading in Asia after four sources told Reuters that the OPEC+ group, which includes members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, believe that oil markets do not need to pump more oil, unlike what they plan to pump in the coming months.
The administration of US President Joe Biden urged the group last week to increase oil production to counter the rise in gasoline prices, which it sees as a threat to the recovery of the global economy.
