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By Aaron Sheldrick
TOKYO, March 16 (Reuters) - Oil prices dropped on Tuesday,
extending declines to three consecutive days, as rising
stockpiles in the United States added to the risks to a demand
recovery after countries including Germany and France halted
COVID-19 vaccinations.
Brent crude was down 69 cents, or 1%, at $68.19 by
0531 GMT, having dropped 0.5% on Monday. U.S. crude was
down 69 cents, or 1.1%, at $64.70 a barrel, after declining 0.3%
in the previous session.
Germany, France and Italy plan to suspend AstraZeneca PLC
COVID-19 injections after reports of possible serious
side effects, although the World Health Organization said there
was no established link to the vaccine.
These moves are deepening concerns about a slow pace of
vaccinations in the region, which may delay any economic
recovery from the pandemic in one of the hardest-hit areas.
The pandemic eviscerated demand for oil but prices have
recovered to levels before the global health crisis, only to be
capped as vaccination rollouts have been slow in most countries.
In the United States, stockpiles are also rising because of
last month's "big freeze" which halted refining operations that
have taken time to fully return.
"Prices are pressured by expectations that last month's
winter storm in Texas could keep boosting crude inventories,"
said Avtar Sandu, senior manager commodities at Phillip Futures
in Singapore.
The American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, will
report crude stock pile levels later on Tuesday, followed by
official numbers from the Department of Energy on Wednesday,
with analysts expecting another week of gain.
Crude inventories increased by 12.8 million barrels in the
week to March 5, against analysts' expectations for a rise of
less than 1 million barrels.
(Reporting by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Christopher Cushing &
Simon Cameron-Moore, William Maclean)
