Oil prices slid from nine-month highs on Friday, with soaring COVID-19 cases seen as a threat to near-term fuel demand and a strengthening of the U.S. dollar also having a negative impact. FILE PHOTO: Oil pours out of a spout from Edwin Drake’s original 1859 well that launched the modern petroleum industry at the Drake Well Museum and Park in Titusville, Pennsylvania U.S., October 5, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slipped 14 cents or 0.29%, to $48.22 a barrel at 0757 GMT, while Brent crude futures fell 20 cents, or 0.39%, to $51.30. More than 73.65 million people have been reported to be infected by the coronavirus globally and 1,654,920 have died, according to a Reuters tally on Friday. The spike in cases is leading to tough restrictions on travel, impacting fuel demand and any economic recovery. Meanwhile, there was more […]