Oil prices slip as coronavirus concerns linger

* Stocks fall as Apple says to miss Q1 revenue guidance
* Global oil demand could slip 435,000 bpd in Q1 - IEA
* Chinese independent refiners buy cargoes after absence

By Jessica Jaganathan
SINGAPORE, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped on Tuesday
on lingering concerns over the economic impact of the
coronavirus outbreak in China and its effect on oil demand,
tracking losses in financial markets.
Brent crude LCOc1 was at $57.30 a barrel, down 37 cents,
or 0.6%, by 0126 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude
CLc1 fell 15 cents, or 0.3%, to $51.90 a barrel.
"While it's more comfortable to call oil higher, given the
likely pent-up demand to lead to a recovery from second quarter,
it's far too early to suggest oil market concerns have
dissipated," said Stephen Innes, chief market strategist at
AxiCorp.
U.S. stock futures slipped from record levels on Tuesday
after Apple Inc AAPL.O , the most valuable company in the
United States, said it will not meet its revenue guidance for
the March quarter as the coronavirus outbreak slowed production
and weakened demand in China. The number of new coronavirus infections in mainland China
fell below 2,000 on Tuesday for the first time since January,
Chinese health officials said, although global experts warn it
is too early to say the outbreak is being contained.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said last week the
virus was set to cause oil demand to fall by 435,000 barrels per
day (bpd) year-on-year in the first quarter, in what would be
the first quarterly drop since the financial crisis in 2009.

Still, with some Chinese independent refineries snapping up
crude supplies after being absent from the market for weeks,
traders held out hopes that China's demand could recover in
coming months.
Investors are also anticipating that the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including
Russia, will approve a proposal to deepen production cuts to
tighten global supplies and support prices.
The group, known as OPEC+, has an agreement to cut oil
output by 1.7 million bpd until the end of March.
Oil output from Libya has fallen sharply since Jan. 18
because of a blockade of ports and oil fields by groups loyal to
eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar.
Libya's national oil corporation, NOC, said on Monday that
oil production was at 135,745 barrels per day as of Monday,
compared with 1.2 million bpd before the stoppage.