Brent sheds more than 3% on renewed global demand fears

Brent crude continued to drop as the US market opened on Monday, dropping more than 3%, as fears over the global demand renewed after new cases of the coronavirus appeared in China, which many interpreted as a possible second wave of the virus outbreak.

Brent fell 3.3% to $29.80, after closing at $30.84 on Friday, with a high of $30.94.

Brent crude futures gained 5.0% on Friday, posting the first daily gain in 3 days as several countries started to relax their coronavirus lockdown.

Brent gained 16% during the past week, the second straight weekly gain on hopes for a recovery in global demand.

New confirmed coronavirus cases appeared in the northeast of China, which raised fears of a second wave of the pandemic, and forcing the global economy to close for a longer period.

The global oil demand is currently 30 million bpd or 30% lower, according to most international energy agencies, due to the "Great Lockdown" of the global economy.