Oil Prices Weak As Investors Worried About COVID-19 Delta Variant Slowing Demand Recovery

JAKARTA - Oil prices fell on Tuesday 17 August as investors worried that the rapid spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 would slow demand recovery.

Reporting from Antara, Wednesday, August 18, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil for September delivery lost 70 cents to settle at 66.59 US dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Meanwhile, Brent for October settlement fell 48 cents to close at 69.03 US dollars per barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

"Concerns about demand due to the global spread of the Delta variant continue to deter higher prices," Carsten Fritsch, energy analyst at Commerzbank Research, said in a note Tuesday.

Investors are also waiting for official data on US crude stockpiles as the Energy Information Administration (EIA) will release its weekly oil status report this Wednesday.

Analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts expect U.S. crude inventories to show a decline of 3.1 million barrels for the week ended August 13, 2021.