Oil prices dropped on Friday after US President Donald Trump said he and his wife had tested positive for the coronavirus.
International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $39.62 per barrel at 0646GMT for a 3.20% decrease after closing Thursday at $40.93 a barrel.
American benchmark West Texas Intermediate was at $37.45 per barrel at the same time, down 3.27% after ending the previous session at $38.72 a barrel.
US President Donald Trump said early Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for COVID-19 after a test of one of his closest aides was confirmed positive.
"Tonight, @FLOTUS [US first lady] and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!" Trump said on Twitter.
Trump's positive test results caused concerns over market volatility ahead of the Nov. 3 election and put further pressure on oil prices.
The rising number of rising COVID-19 cases worldwide is also dampening the oil demand outlook while extending the downward oil price trend.
The number of deaths from the coronavirus is now over 1 million while the number of global cases is over 34 million.
OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo also said in an announcement on Twitter on Thursday that despite OPEC's optimism over balancing the oil market, uncertainties and risks would continue to affect global oil market stability and the pace of economic recovery at the same time that the global economy is battling against a COVID-19 resurgence.
Barkindo’s remarks came during a two-day technical workshop starting on Sept. 29 in Vienna with agencies forecasting world oil demand and non-OPEC supply, which also saw the attendance by OPEC and non-OPEC oil-producing countries and experts from forecasting agencies.
By Ebru Sengul Cevrioglu
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr