Crude Prices Fall as Floods, Coronavirus Threaten Demand

Oil prices were little changed on Monday, as investors balanced concerns about fuel demand from the spread of Covid-19 variants and floods in China against expectations of tight supplies through the rest of the year.
Brent crude futures for September fell 3 cents to $74.07 a barrel while US Texas Intermediate crude was at $71.99 a barrel, down 8 cents, Reuters reported.
Both contracts recovered from a 7% slump last Monday and marked their first gains in 2-3 weeks last week, as investors bet demand would stay strong amid falling oil stockpiles and rising vaccination rates.
"We saw an overreaction in the market last Monday and like all other technical corrections so far, oil’s downturn has typically proven short lived," Howie Lee, an economist at Singapore's OCBC Bank, said.
"Bargain hunters came in droves when Brent got below $70 and the economic demand for energy looks robust."
However, coronavirus cases continued to rise over the weekend with some countries posting record daily increases and extending lockdown measures that could slow oil demand. 
China, the world's largest crude importer, has also seen a rise in Covid-19 cases while the nation battled severe floods and a typhoon in central and eastern parts of the country.