ANKARA
Oil prices fell slightly on Friday due to demand fears that caused coronavirus cases to rise after Brent settled above $ 51 for the first time since March on vaccine hopes.
Brent crude international benchmark traded at $ 51.23 per barrel at 0716 GMT for a 0.52% decrease after Thursday’s close at $ 51.50 per barrel.
The American West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark was at $ 48.20 a barrel at the same time for a 0.33% decrease after ending the previous session at $ 48.36 a barrel.
Brent oil averaged $ 51 on Thursday, peaking March 5 at $ 52.04. However, global fears of coronavirus outbreaks, coupled with tightening mitigation measures and lock-ins in several European countries, keep demand weak and slow economic activity pushing up oil prices .
While the number of cases worldwide is now close to 75 million, the measures that countries impose vary from tight locks to night invitations.
The Netherlands, the UK, Italy and the Czech Republic announced restrictions on large gatherings and the closure of unnecessary businesses, while Germany entered a tight lock and France announced night invitations from 8.00pm. at 6.00am.
According to data from Johns Hopkins University on Friday, the U.S., the largest oil-consuming country, remains at the top of the number of cases above 17.2 million, while in India cases have exceeded 9.9 million cases. arrival, and Brazil continues to have more than 7.1 million.
However, positive vaccine developments are still supporting prices.
An external advisory panel on Thursday recommended that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allow the use of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
If accepted, the Moderna vaccine is the second coronavirus vaccine in the U.S. after the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, which was authorized by the FDA last week.
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