Crude oil futures end deeply in red amid rising concerns about outlook for energy demand

24 Mar 2021 Evaluate

Crude oil futures ended deeply lower on Tuesday amid rising concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to the extension of lockdown measures in several parts of Europe and slow vaccine rollouts. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and regional leaders of 16 federal states agreed late Monday to impose a hard lockdown during Easter amid exponential growth in the number of coronavirus cases in the country in what is being called a third wave. Besides, Reports said the number of coronavirus cases is also rising in India. In the US, New Jersey is said to be considering deferring its reopening plans as cases are once again surging in the state.  Meanwhile, there was a setback of sorts for AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine as the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said AstraZeneca may have provided an incomplete view of efficacy data on its vaccine from a large scale U.S. trial.

Crude oil futures for May fell $3.80 or 6.2 percent to settle at $57.76 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. May Brent crude dropped $3.83 or 5.9 percent to settle at $60.79 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.

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