Crude-oil futures added to losses Monday morning, after last week producing their largest weekly loss since October as worries over renewed lockdowns and a sluggish vaccine rollout in parts of Europe continued to dog energy markets.
“There is still some residual pessimism in the market as Europe, instead of finally opening open, is seeing pockets of increased Covid-19 cases, forcing many European countries reinstate or extend lockdowns,” wrote Louise Dickson, oil markets analyst at Rystad Energy, in a Monday research note.
West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery CLJ21,
The April contract expires at the end of Monday’s session. The May WTI CLK21,
Meanwhile, May Brent crude BRN00,
Last week, WTI crude lost 6.4%, while Brent declined by 6.8%, the largest losses since October for both benchmarks, following big losses on Thursday, when WTI plunged 7.1%, and Brent dropped 6.9% for its biggest one-day percentage loss since June.
