By Gina Lee
Investing.com – Oil was down Tuesday morning in Asia, reporting a third consecutive day of losses over concerns about rising U.S. crude oil stockpiles, as well as the impact of a delay in European COVID-19 vaccines on fuel demand recovery.
Brent oil futures fell 0.78% to $68.34 by 12:13 AM ET (4:13 AM GMT) and WTI futures were down 0.75% to $64.90.
Germany, France, and Italy are the latest European countries to suspend usage of the AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) PLC/University of Oxford COVID-19 vaccine over rising concerns about possible side effects. A growing list of countries, including Ireland and the Netherlands, have already suspended usage.
The suspensions are deepening concerns about the pace of inoculation in the continent, which could potentially delay economic recovery from the virus and adversely affect fuel demand.
However, the World Health Organization said there was no established link to the vaccine and urged against panic. In the Asia-Pacific region, Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said earlier in the day that the country has no plans to halt the use of the vaccine. Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha and members of his cabinet were also inoculated with the jab on Tuesday.
The European worries threaten to undo the black liquid’s recovery to pre-COVID-19 prices after the pandemic saw fuel demand dry up, However, gains have been capped due to the slow pace of the global COVID-19 vaccine rollout in general.
Across the Atlantic, stockpiles continue to increase as production continues a slow recovery from February’s unexpected cold snap in Texas and the surrounding areas.
“Crude oil inventories have increased substantially in recent weeks, as a result of U.S. refinery disruptions, which have seen crude oil stocks approaching 500 million barrels,” ING Economics analysts said in a note.
U.S. crude oil supply data from the American Petroleum Institute is due later in the day.