Crude oil futures ended lower on Monday on concerns about outlook for energy demand after China imposed travel curbs at many places in the country, aiming to halt the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus. In China, where the Delta variant has been detected in more than a dozen cities since mid July, new curbs, including flight cancellations have been imposed. Travel warnings have been issued in nearly 50 cities, and limits on public transport and taxi services have been imposed in 144 of the worst-hit areas. Meanwhile, the US too saw a sharp surge in coronavirus cases last week, with the seven-day average for new daily infections surpassing 100,000, a level not seen since the winter surge.
Crude oil futures for September dropped $1.80 or 2.6 percent to settle $66.48 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. October Brent crude fell $1.56 or 2.2 percent to settle at $69.14 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.