Oil prices dropped on Tuesday as market participants continued to worry about sluggish crude demand due to the pandemic.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for October delivery dropped 3.01 U.S. dollars to settle at 36.76 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for November delivery slid 2.23 dollars to 39.78 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
Both crude benchmarks marked their lowest front-month contract settlements since June, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
"We believe this is attributable first and foremost to demand concerns," Eugen Weinberg, energy analyst at Commerzbank Research, said in a note Tuesday, explaining the price weakness on the oil market.
"Labor Day yesterday marked the official end of the disappointing summer driving season in the U.S., the world's largest oil consumer by far," said Weinberg, adding crude prices were under pressure as "demand momentum there and elsewhere has come to a standstill recently, just as OPEC and its allies are beginning to step up their production again after the previous record-high cuts."
For the week ending Friday, WTI crude decreased nearly 7.5 percent, while Brent logged a weekly fall of 6.9 percent.
U. S. markets were closed on Monday for Labor Day.
Editor:Cherie
