Oil prices declined on Tuesday as investors were concerned that the outbreak of the coronavirus would dent global crude demand.
The West Texas Intermediate for March delivery fell 0.50 U.S. dollar to settle at 49.61 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for April delivery decreased 0.49 dollar, to close at 53.96 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
Oil prices went up earlier in the session on prospects for more output cuts from OPEC+, which include the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other major oil exporters like Russia. But the prices retreated later in the session on dim demand outlook.
In December, the group agreed to deepen production cuts by an additional 500,000 barrels a day, bringing the total cuts to 1.7 million barrels daily.
The world's major oil producers have been largely limiting oil output in recent years in order to boost prices.
Editor:Cherie
