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Oil prices have fallen slightly today due to concerns about reduced demand in China following the recent coronavirus outbreak.

The death toll from the virus has reached 362, including one reported death in the Philippines, an increase of 57 deaths from the day before. The number of cases of infection has increased to 21,558 as of the end of 2 February.

According to Reuters, Brent crude futures were down $0.18 at $56.44 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $0.10 to $51.66 a barrel.

Fuel demand has fallen sharply in the world’s biggest oil-importing nation as airlines have cancelled flights to stop the spread of the virus.

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Delays in reopening factories following the Lunar New Year holiday have also contributed to the decline in fuel demand in China.

ING commodity analysts said: “Travel restrictions and the extended shutdown of large parts of the Chinese industrial sector have weighed on oil demand and this is reflected in the weakness that we are seeing in the ICE Brent time spreads.”

According to OPEC+ sources, OPEC and non-OPEC’s joint technical committee (JTC) have scheduled a meeting early this month to assess the impact of the viral infection.

Mitsubishi Tokyo senior risk manager Tony Nunan said: “They’ve done a good job of managing the price, but it is unexpected that demand would be impacted by something like a pandemic.

“The expectation is that in the next meeting that they will deepen the [production] cuts.”