Oil prices fell to their lowest levels in more than a year on Wednesday after the announcement of hundreds of new cases of coronavirus in Europe and the Middle East.
According to Reuters, the settlement price for Brent crude was set at $ 53.43 a barrel, down $ 1.52, or 2.77 percent, while US West Texas Intermediate crude closed at $ 48.73 a barrel, down $ 1.17 or 2.34 percent. Earlier in the session, both crude oils recorded their lowest levels since January 2019, with Brent falling to $ 53.03 a barrel, and West Texas falling to $ 48.30.
The oil was followed by stock losses after reports that 83 people in New York were put on notice due to their possible exposure to the virus.
Every time news comes, especially if it relates to new cases in the United States as in New York, it injects itself, forces more selling, and shifts the inputs of natural fundamentals aside, "said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch & Co..
The first cases were confirmed in countries such as Greece, Georgia and Brazil, while the authorities imposed more travel and quarantine restrictions on several continents.
