Oil drops more than $1 after Saudi price cuts, demand optimism fades

* Saudi crude prices to Asia fall the most in five months in
Oct
* Brent slips 2.1% by 0000 GMT, WTI drops 2.3%

By Florence Tan
SINGAPORE, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Oil prices dropped more than
$1 a barrel on Monday, hitting their lowest since July, after
Saudi Arabia made the deepest monthly price cuts for supply to
Asia in five months as optimism about demand recovery cooled
amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Brent crude LCOc1 was at $41.75 a barrel, down 91 cents or
2.1% by 0000 GMT, after it earlier slid to $41.51, its lowest
since July 30.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 skidded 91 cents,
or 2.3%, to $38.86 a barrel. Front-month prices initially hit a
low of $38.55 a barrel, a level not seen since July 10.
The world remained awash with crude and fuel supplies
despite OPEC+ supply cuts and government efforts to stimulate
the global economy and oil demand, forcing refiners to rein in
output and producers to make deep price cuts again. "With the Labour Day (holiday) in the U.S. officially
marking the end of the summer driving season, investors are also
facing up to the fact that demand has been lacklustre, while
inventories remain at elevated levels," ANZ analysts said in a
note.
The world's top oil exporter Saudi Arabia cut the October
official selling price for Arab Light crude it sells to Asia by
the biggest margin since May. Asia is Saudi Arabia's largest
market by region. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
and its allies including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, eased
production cuts from August to 7.7 million barrels per day after
global oil prices improved from historic coronavirus-linked
lows.
The recovery in oil prices has also encouraged some U.S.
drillers to return to the wells.
U.S. energy firms last week added oil and natural gas rigs
for the second time in the past three weeks, according to a
weekly report by Baker Hughes Co BKR.N on Friday.