Crude oil futures were trading lower in mid-morning trade in Asia June 17, after settling higher overnight, as reports of fresh COVID-19 outbreaks continued to weigh on hopes of economic recovery. At 10 am Singapore time (0200 GMT), ICE Brent August crude futures were down 64 cents/b (1.56%) from the June 16 settle at $40.32/b, while the NYMEX July light sweet crude contract was 78 cents/b (2.03%) lower at $37.60/b. Both benchmarks had settled more than $1.20/b higher June 16 after the release of bullish demand projections by the International Energy Agency and stronger-than-expected US retail sales data for May. “However, the rally was capped by concerns about a second wave of COVID-19 cases. Beijing shut its schools and lifted its emergency response to level two to contain a new outbreak,” ANZ analysts […]