* Coronavirus cases jump in South Korea, Italy and Iran
* China braces for big hit to economy from virus, says Xi
* U.S. oil rig count rises for third week in a row - Baker
Hughes
By Jessica Jaganathan
SINGAPORE, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Oil prices tumbled more than
2% on Monday as investors worried about a hit to demand from the
coronavirus outbreak, which is spreading rapidly outside China.
Brent crude LCOc1 fell by $1.50 or 2.5% to $57.00 a barrel
by 2332 GMT. U.S. crude futures CLc1 fell by $1.26 or 2.3% to
$52.12.
Concerns about the coronavirus grew on Sunday after sharp
rises in infections in South Korea, Italy and Iran. South Korea's government put the country on high alert after
the number of infections surged to over 600 with six deaths,
while in Italy, officials said a third person infected with the
flu-like virus had died, as the number of cases jumped to above
150 from just three before Friday.
"We should not underestimate the economic disruption as a
super spreader could trigger a massive drop-in business activity
around the globe of proportions the world has never dealt with
before," said Stephen Innes, chief market strategist at AxiCorp.
China, the world's largest energy consumer, will adjust
policy to help cushion the blow to the economy from the
coronavirus outbreak that authorities are still trying to
control, President Xi Jinping said on Sunday. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz
bin Salman described as "nonsense" a media report that Riyadh is
considering a break from the OPEC+ alliance with Russia.
His comments followed a Wall Street Journal report that said
Saudi Arabia was considering leaving the OPEC+ alliance as
China's coronavirus outbreak contributes to a drop in global oil
demand. In the United States, the oil rig count, an indicator of
future production, rose for a third straight week. Drillers
added one oil rig last week, bringing the total count to 679,
the highest since the week of Dec. 20, energy services firm
Baker Hughes Co said. RIG/U