The global oil benchmark, Brent crude, declined on Monday as the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies indicated that it was watching surging COVID-19 cases in India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer.

The global oil benchmark, Brent crude, declined on Monday as the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies indicated that it was watching surging COVID-19 cases in India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer.

Brent crude, against which Nigeria’s crude oil priced, went down by $0.49 to $65.62 per barrel as at 8:31pm Nigerian time on Monday, according to EnergyIntel.

The US West Texas Intermediate crude also lost $0.26, falling to $61.88 per barrel.

Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago, was quoted by Reuters as saying, “The market is on guard, coming back from India demand fears on reports that the OPEC technical committee acknowledged potential demand threats from the situation in India.”

The OPEC+ joint technical committee has kept its forecast for growth in global oil demand this year, but is concerned about surging COVID-19 cases in India and elsewhere, three sources from the producer group told Reuters.