Brent oil posts losses with rising coronavirus deaths

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - The price of Brent crude posted major losses during Tuesday's early trading compared to the previous session as the rising death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in China lowered global oil demand.

The international benchmark was trading at $58.46 per barrel at 0622 GMT on Tuesday, with a slight recovery from the previous session, but fell 4.15% to hit as low as $57.74 a barrel on Wednesday -- its lowest since Oct. 10, 2019, according to official data.

The death toll in China from the coronavirus outbreak has climbed to 106, Chinese news agency Xinhua reported early Tuesday, adding that there are some 4,515 confirmed cases.

British multinational investment bank and financial services company, Barclays, said Tuesday that crude oil prices could fall by $2 per barrel on average in 2020 due to the economic effects of the coronavirus outbreak.

The bank said if air passenger traffic in China halves during the first quarter of 2020, it would lead to a 300,000-barrel-per-day loss in China's jet-kerosene demand.