China's Covid fight in oil headlines

China’s first Covid-related death in 6 months has raised expectations that measures will be tightened in the country, while the demand outlook for oil has also been negatively affected. Oil has fallen again after the biggest weekly decline since August as China tightened anti-Covid rules and damaged the demand outlook. Brent crude fell below $87 a barrel on the first trading day of the week after falling almost 9 percent last week. US crude also fell below $80. The country experienced its first Covid-related death in almost six months on Saturday, with two more deaths reported on Sunday. This has raised fears of a new wave of restrictions in the world’s largest oil importer. While the demand outlook for oil has been affected by the Covid-related news flow from China, downward revisions to price expectations have continued. Goldman Sachs lowered its fourth-quarter forecast for Brent crude by $10 from its previous forecast to $100. Crude erased gains made after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia agreed to cut output by 2 million barrels a day.