(Updates with prices, oil poll)
By Aaron Sheldrick and Dmitry Zhdannikov
TOKYO/LONDON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell for a
second day on Wednesday as rising coronavirus cases prompted
concerns about further restrictions on global economic activity
that could curb fuel demand.
Brent crude for November delivery dropped 57 cents,
or 1.4%, to $40.46 per barrel by 1005 GMT. West Texas
Intermediate fell 14 cents, or 0.4%, to $39.15.
The November Brent contract expires today, to be replaced by
the December contract, which was down around 0.5% at $41.36.
The benchmarks fell more than 3% on Tuesday as global
COVID-19 cases passed 1 million, having doubled in three months.
. A Reuters monthly oil poll showed prices would
have little upside this year .
"The increasing number of COVID-19 cases continues to raise
alarm bells on energy demand," said Avtar Sandu, senior
commodities manager at Phillip Futures.
"Concerns about stagnating demand and the return of Libyan
exports continue to put pressure on oil prices," said Norbert
Rucker from Julius Baer.
ING Economics also pointed out in a note: "Whilst demand is
an issue for the market, the supply side of the equation is not
helping either."
Libya's Sarir oilfield, which was producing more than
300,000 barrels per day (bpd) last year, restarted output after
an eight-month blockade.
CEOs of the world's biggest trading companies are
forecasting a weak recovery for oil demand and little movement
in prices in the coming months and potentially years.
Marathon Petroleum Corp, the largest oil refiner in
the United States, started imposing job cuts on Tuesday,
according to people familiar with the matter.
Royal Dutch Shell also said it would cut up to
9,000 jobs.
To counter the fall in demand, the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries is unlikely to increase oil
production as planned from January next year, top oil traders
said on Tuesday.
The market looked past data from the American Petroleum
Institute on Tuesday showing U.S. crude oil stocks fell against
expectations, focussing instead on the rise in gasoline
inventories.
(Reporting by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and
Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
