Oil prices continued to decline during the opening session on Monday as a stronger US dollar and a rise in Covid-19 cases exerted downward pressure on the commodity.
Brent, the international benchmark, was down 3.6 per cent to trade at $68.15 a barrel at 12.47pm UAE time. West Texas Intermediate, which tracks US crude grades, was down 3.8 per cent at $65.63 a barrel.
The benchmarks fell by about 8 per cent last week amid concerns that the more virulent Delta variant, which is responsible for an increase in infections in several parts of the world, could derail crude demand.
More than 203 million people worldwide had been infected by Covid-19 as of Monday, according to Worldometer, which tracks the pandemic.
Deaths from coronavirus have surged past 4.3 million, with major oil demand centres such as the US, India, Brazil and Russia registering the highest number of cases.
“What is disturbing oil markets the most, though, is the Delta…
