Crude oil prices were down on Tuesday with rising coronavirus cases all around the world while concerns about a second wave are casting doubts over a recovery in oil demand.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $45.13 per barrel at 0650 GMT for a 0.5% decrease after closing Monday at $45.37 a barrel.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $42.61 a barrel at the same time for a 0.6% decrease after ending the previous session at $42.89 per barrel.

According to global rating agency Moody's, global trade is staging a synchronous recovery in most countries after stagnation in April and May. On Monday, the Chinese state-owned oil firms tentatively booked tankers to transport at least 20 million barrels of US crude for August and September.

However, Moody’s said that trade activity would only gradually pick up, driven by a slow rebound in consumer demand through the rest of 2020.

The agency said the risk of widespread resurgence in coronavirus infections has increased, spawning concerns over renewed lockdowns and disruptions to the supply chain.

The number of COVID-19 cases worldwide is now close to 22 million, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.

While the US continues to top 5.4 million cases as of Tuesday morning, Brazil has seen more than 3.3 million cases and India has reported over 2.7 million cases.

By Sibel Morrow

Anadolu Agency

energy@aa.com.tr