2020.06.3010:33:00UTC+00Oil Prices Fall On Prospect Of Libyan Supply

Oil prices fell over 1 percent on Tuesday as optimism for a recovery in fuel demand faded and investors weighed a possible return of Libyan oil production.

Benchmark Brent crude for September delivery dropped 1.1 percent to $41.41 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures were down 1.4 percent at $39.16 a barrel.

Deaths from the virus surpassed 500,000 worldwide and confirmed cases exceeded 10 million, raising worries about the outlook for energy demand.

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu warned Monday that "the worst is yet to come" and a divided world "is helping the virus to spread."

Investors are watching to see whether Libya, which can produce about 1 percent of global supply, is able to resume exports.

Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) is hopeful that oil production will resume as a result of talks between the UN, US, France and Egypt to end a blockade by forces based in the east of the North African country.

Investors will react to the American Petroleum Institute (API) Weekly Inventories Report later in the day and data from the U.S. government on Wednesday.