Brent falls on Europe demand worries

Oil prices continued to fall as the US market opened on Monday, due to fears over the European demand recovery lingered, after some major European countries announced new lockdown restrictions.

US crude fell 1.7% to $60.38, after opening at $61.42, and hit a day high at $61.65, and Brent crude fell 1.6% to $63.46, after opening at $64.50, and hit a day high at $64.76.

US crude gained 3.25% on Friday, and Brent crude futures rose 2.6%, in their first daily gain in 5 days.

Oil prices lost around 6.5% last week, posting the second straight weekly loss, due to the latest developments regarding the coronavirus pandemic in Europe.

Several European countries re-imposed lockdown restrictions after a surge in Covid-19 cases and the spread of the third wave of infections.

The new restrictions may lead to further slowdown the fuel demand levels in one of the hardest hit regions by the pandemic.

The German government plans to extend the lockdown for the fifth straight month to contain the outbreak, after new cases exceeded the numbers that authorities say will lead to pressure on hospitals.

Baker Hughes revealed on Friday that the US drilling and exploration rigs rose 9 rigs last week, to a total of 318, the highest level since the week ending May 1, 2020.

The increase in the US drilling activity boosted the US production by more than 47% since mid-2016 to a total of 13.1 million barrels per day in March 2020, and held recently around 10.9 million bpd due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the US is still the world's largest oil producer.