Oil drops

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TOKYO- Oil fell more than 2 percent on Monday, extending losses from last week, as new coronavirus infections hit China and the United States, raising the prospect that renewed outbreaks of the virus could weigh on the recovery of fuel demand.

Brent crude futures fell 89 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $37.84 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down $1.18, or 3.3 percent, to $35.08 a barrel.

A cluster of infections in Beijing has increased concern of a resurgence of the disease. The coronavirus pandemic started at the end of last year in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

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The oil benchmarks fell about 8 percent last week, their first weekly declines since April, as US coronavirus cases started increasing. Over the weekend, more than 25,000 new US cases were reported on Saturday alone as more states reported record new infections and hospitalizations.

“The recovery in oil demand is already set to be a lengthy process, and a fresh wave of cases will certainly raise worries that a recovery in demand may take even longer than initially thought,” ING Economics said in a note.

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