(Changes dateline to London, updates prices, adds analyst
comment)
By Shadia Nasralla
LONDON, 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 $1.03 cents, or 1.5%, lower at
$67.85 by 1002 GMT. U.S. crude was down 96 cents, or
1.4%, at $64.43 a barrel.
Germany, France and Italy plan to suspend AstraZeneca
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 European Union, 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 seen 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.
"Short-term direction will be set by the weekly U.S.
inventory reports," PVM analysts said in a note, adding the
strength of the dollar against other currencies is weighing on
oil prices.
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 gains.
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.
(Additional reporting by Aaron Sheldrick
Editing by Susan Fenton)
Astrazeneca (AZN)
