Oil prices fall to their lowest in a year due to coronavirus impact

LONDON — Oil prices fell nearly 3% on Thursday, plunging for a fifth day to their lowest since January 2019 as a rise in new coronavirus cases outside China fueled fears of a pandemic that could slow the global economy and dent demand for crude.

Brent crude was down $1.55, or 2.9%, at $51.88 a barrel at 1315 GMT. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures  fell by $1.41 cents, or 2.9%, to $47.32 a barrel.

For the first time since the start of the coronavirus outbreak erupted in China, the number of new coronavirus infections outside the country exceeded new Chinese cases.

The spread of the virus to large economies including South Korea, Japan and Italy has raised concerns that growth in fuel demand will be limited. Consultants Facts Global Energy forecast oil demand would grow by 60,000 barrels per day in 2020, a level it called "practically zero," due to the outbreak.

U.S. President Donald Trump sought to assure Americans on Wednesday evening that the risk from coronavirus remained "very low," but global equities resumed their plunge, wiping out more than $3 trillion in value this week alone.

"The negative price impact would intensify if the coronavirus were declared pandemic by the World Health Organization, something that looks imminent," said PVM Oil Associates analyst Tamas Varga.