WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices fell more than 1 percent on Monday as investors fretted about the spread of Delta variant across most regions of the world and slow pace of vaccinations.
Brent crude futures for September delivery fell 1.4 percent to $74.48 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for August settlement were down 1.4 percent at $73.49.
Both benchmarks lost around 1 percent last week after the collapse of output talks between the Organizations of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Leaders of the G20 nations admitted over the weekend that COVID-19 variants could threaten the economic recovery from the pandemic.
In their final statement issued late Saturday, the finance ministers of the world's 20 largest economies warned that the global economic recovery is at risk from the rise of new coronavirus variants and poor access to vaccines in developing countries.
The prospect of an extended lockdown in Sydney loomed as Australian health officials reported yet another record daily rise in Covid-19 cases.
In South Korea, the government has put its capital Seoul under the toughest anti-COVID curbs so for.
The foreign ministry extended a travel ban on six countries in the Middle East and other regions, and some parts of the Philippines, for another six months, citing prolonged security risks.
There were over 2.6 million new cases last week, with Europe experiencing a sharp increase of 30 percent, the WHO said in its latest epidemiological update.
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