Oil prices fell on Wednesday, amid fears that rising COVID-19 cases in the US and across Europe would deteriorate global fuel demand.
In its monthly report Tuesday, the OPEC mentioned that oil demand in 2021 will rise by 6.54 million barrels per day (bpd) to 96.84 million bpd, 80,000 bpd less than its forecast a month ago, due to the prolonged impact of a health crisis.
Meantime, the Kremlin said Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed the current situation in the energy markets in a telephone call.
At around 05:30 AM GMT, WTI crude was down 0.5% to $40.02 a barrel. Brent crude dropped by 0.4% to $42.27 a barrel. Oil prices have stayed around $40-$45 a barrel since June due to the economic uncertainty over a health crisis and speculation on whether the OPEC+ will tighten its quotas.
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