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·         Oil dips nearly 4% on weak demand outlook and higher OPEC output

Oil prices fell about 4% on Thursday as rising coronavirus cases around the world dampened the demand outlook, and a rise in OPEC output last month also pressured prices.

Brent crude futures fell $1.52, or 3.6%, to $40.78 a barrel after dropping to a low of $39.92. West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled $1.51, or 3.8%, lower at $38.71 per barrel, after sliding to a session low of $37.61.

Standard Chartered analysts said they now expect global demand to fall 9.03 million bpd in 2020 and recover by 5.57 million bpd in 2021, leaving the 2021 average slightly below the 2016 average.

Increasing oil supply from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) also weighed on the market, with output in September up 160,000 barrels per day (bpd) from August, a Reuters survey found.

The rise was largely on the back of higher supplies from Libya and Iran, both exempt from an oil supply pact between OPEC and allies led by Russia, a grouping known as OPEC+.

Reference: CNBC