Oil falls for third day as virus concern outweigh supply cuts

• Oil prices fell for a fifth day on Thursday to their lowest since January 2019 as a growing number of new coronavirus cases outside of China fueled fears of a pandemic which could slow the global economy and lower crude demand.
• Brent crude was down $1.47, or 2.8%, at $51.96 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate futures fell $1.35, or 2.7%, to trade at $47.38 per barrel.
• In the five trading sessions through Thursday, Brent has dropped 10.6%, while WTI has declined 10.4%, their biggest five-day percentage losses since August 2019.
• On Wednesday, for the first time ever, the number of new coronavirus infections outside China, the source of the outbreak, exceeded the number of new Chinese cases.
• The spread to large economies including South Korea, Japan and Italy has caused concerns that fuel demand growth will be limited. On Wednesday, consultants Facts Global Energy forecast oil demand growth will only 60,000 barrels per day in 2020, or “practically zero”, because of the widening outbreak.

 (Source: CNBC)