COVID-19 Spike Prompts Mixed Oil Prices as U.S. Demand Stays Frail

Investing.com – Oil prices were mixed on Monday morning in Asia as the U.S. reached a record high for new coronavirus cases for the 27th day in a row with twelve states reporting new highs in seven-day case averages.

Montana, Delaware and Alaska are experiencing the biggest percentage increase from past records, while South Carolina, Texas, Arizona, Nevada and California reported record numbers of current covid-19 hospitalizations as of July 6.

In Europe, supply tightened due to a pledge by OPEC and Russia to extend oil production cuts by a record 9.7 million barrels per day for a third month in July. After July, producers expect to keep in place smaller production cuts of 7.7 million bpd until December.

Brent oil futures rose 0.19% to $42.88 by 10:36 PM ET (3:36 AM GMT) while WTI futures slid 0.71% to $40.36.

There are some encouraging signs that the U.S. is heading towards economic recovery.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) recently made its first deal since the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus, purchasing assets from the U.S.’s second largest energy company Dominion Energy (NYSE:D) in a deal worth almost $10 billion.