UPDATE 9-Oil dives over 5% as U.S. crude stocks hit record, COVID cases mount

* U.S. crude stocks rise, gasoline inventories fall -EIA
* IMF predicts deeper global recession due to coronavirus
pandemic
* U.S. has 2nd-largest rise in new virus cases since crisis
began

(New throughout, updates prices, market activity and comments
to settlement)
By Laila Kearney
NEW YORK, June 24 (Reuters) - Oil prices tumbled over 5%, or
more than $2 a barrel on Wednesday, after U.S. crude storage hit
another record and coronavirus cases rebounded in countries like
Germany and surged in heavily populated areas of the United
States.
The United States had its second-largest rise in infections
since the pandemic began. Mounting infections there as well as
in China, Latin America and India have unnerved investors and
pressured oil prices.
"The market is signalling that if it doesn't get constant
reassurance that we are emerging from the breakdown in demand
that happened because of the pandemic, then higher oil prices
really don't make sense," said Gene McGillian, vice president of
market research at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.
Brent crude LCOc1 settled at $40.31 a barrel, down $2.32,
or 5.4%. On Tuesday, Brent hit its highest price since early
March, just before the pandemic and Saudi-Russia price war
roiled markets.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 settled at
$38.01 a barrel, losing $2.36, or 5.8%.
A stronger U.S. dollar .DXY , which moves inversely with
oil, and a slump in equities .N also weighed on prices.
U.S. crude oil inventories swelled last week by 1.4 million
barrels, exceeding expectations for a 299,000-barrel rise, the
Energy Information Administration said. EIA/S
That marked the third straight record for crude in U.S.
storage.
The International Monetary Fund said the pandemic is causing
wider and deeper economic damage than first thought, and it
slashed its 2020 global output forecasts further. India's oil imports in May hit the lowest since October 2011
as refiners with brimming crude inventories cut purchases.
China, the world's top crude importer, is also expected to
slow imports in the third quarter, after record purchases in
recent months. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Annual Oil Demand https://tmsnrt.rs/2zzjLdw
Global Short-Term Crude Floating Storage https://tmsnrt.rs/3i71tSy
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