Oil prices fall on virus uptick and poor Asian economic data

London — Oil prices fell on Friday as a rise in new cases of coronavirus and weak Asian economic data fueled uncertainty about the economic outlook and as major crude producers showed no rush to cut output.

Brent crude was down 96c, or 1.6%, at $58.35 a barrel by 10.19am GMT, while US crude dropped 76c, or 1.4%, at $53.12 a barrel.

Oil prices had edged up on Thursday after a much smaller-than-expected rise in US crude stocks.

“With Brent failing to breach the $60 level on Thursday, despite better-than-expected US oil inventory data, rising market uncertainty is dragging down oil prices on Friday,” said UBS oil analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

“Market participants who benefited from the price rise in recent days might prefer not to go into the weekend with a long position due to the renewed uncertainty,” he said.