China Virus Fears Send Oil Prices Even Lower

Oil prices were down early on Friday for a fourth consecutive session, as fears of the deadly Chinese virus spreading and concerns about oil demand trumped supply outages and set prices on course for a 5-percent weekly loss. Oil prices hit their lowest since late November early on Friday. As of 09:52 a.m. EDT on Friday, WTI Crude was down 1.89 percent at US$54.54, while Brent Crude traded down 1.73 percent at US$60.22. This week started on the bullish note for oil prices, after a port blockade in Libya that began in the weekend threatened to cut…