2020.02.2519:43:00UTC+00Oil Futures Settle At 2-week Low

Crude oil prices declined sharply on Tuesday, extending recent losses, amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on global growth.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended down $1.53, or about 3%, at $49.90 a barrel, the lowest settlement in about two weeks.

Brent crude futures declined $1.48 to $54.86 a barrel.

On Monday, WTI crude oil futures for April ended down $1.95, or 3.7%, at $51.43 a barrel.

According to reports, the number of new virus cases in China outside Hubei continued to drop.

Countries around the world have stepped up efforts to prevent a pandemic of the flu-like virus, with the U.S. pledging $2.5 billion to fight the disease.

South Korea said it aims to test more than 200,000 members of a church at the center of a surge in coronavirus cases.

On Monday, the World Health Organization insisted it was premature to declare the deadly outbreak of a novel coronavirus a pandemic even though it had the potential to reach that level.

According to a report from Reuters, Saudi Aramco expects the coronavirus impact on oil demand to be short-lived.

Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said that OPEC+ should not be complacent about the coronavirus.

Traders were also looking ahead to the weekly inventory reports from the American Petroleum Institute (API) and Energy Information Administration (EIA). While the API's report is due later today, the EIA is scheduled to come out with its inventory data Wednesday morning.