NEW YORK (Oil Price) - Oil prices dropped by almost 3 percent on Thursday morning and were set for the biggest percentage drop since early April, after the restart of Colonial Pipeline eased some of the concerns about gasoline shortages in the U.S. East.
As of 11:01 a.m. EDT on Thursday, WTI Crude was falling by 2.94 percent at $64.14 and Brent Crude was down by 2.64 percent at $67.49.
Oil prices snapped the winning streak from earlier this week when reports from both OPEC and the International Energy Agency (IEA) reiterated the view that global oil demand would rebound strongly in the second half of the year with more economies reopening and increased travel amid higher vaccination rates.
The excess oil inventories of the past year have been all but depleted, and a strong demand rebound in the second half this year could lead to even steeper stock draws, the IEA said on Wednesday. The agency’s bullish outlook on demand, coupled with a similar view from OPEC from Tuesday, sent oil prices to an eight-week high on Wednesday.
But on Thursday, the market focused again on the COVID crisis in India and the coronavirus strain there.