TOKYO, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Oil prices slumped a further 2% to
multi-month lows on Monday as the rising number of cases of the
new China virus and city lockdowns deepened concerns about
demand for crude, even as Saudi Arabia's energy minister sought
to calm the market.
Brent crude LCOc1 fell by $1.12 a barrel, or 1.9%, to
$59.57 by 0113 GMT, having earlier dropped to $58.68, the lowest
since late October. U.S. crude CLc1 slipped by $1.14, or 2.1%,
to $53.05, having earlier eased to $52.15, the lowest since
early October.
Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman
Al-Saud said on Monday he was watching developments closely in
China and said he felt confident that the new virus would be
contained.
Markets are being "primarily driven by psychological factors
and extremely negative expectations adopted by some market
participants despite its very limited impact on global oil
demand," he said. With the coronavirus's ability to spread getting stronger
most financial markets are being hit, although many are closed
in Asia due to the Lunar New Year holidays.
MKTS/GLOB