UPDATE 9-Oil sinks 4% on demand concerns as coronavirus spreads

* Coronavirus cases jump in South Korea, Italy and Iran
* Virus effect on oil demand to be short-lived -Saudi Aramco
CEO
* Trump admin to step up pressure campaign on Venezuelan oil

(Adds settlement prices, market activity, commentary)
By Stephanie Kelly
NEW YORK, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Oil prices slumped by nearly 4%
on Monday as the rapid spread of the coronavirus in countries
outside China added to investor concerns over the effect on
demand for crude.
Global equities also extended losses as worries about the
impact of the virus grew, with the number of cases jumping in
Iran, Italy and South Korea. Brent crude LCOc1 futures fell $2.20, or 3.8%, to settle
at $56.30 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude
CLc1 futures fell $1.95, or 3.7%, to settle at $51.43 a
barrel.
"The reports of the coronavirus spreading is raising more
fears of demand destruction," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at
Price Futures Group in Chicago. "When we saw the big move down
in the stock market, oil traders were selling first and asking
questions later."
The coronavirus has infected nearly 77,000 people and killed
more than 2,500 in China, most of them in Hubei.
South Korea's fourth-largest city, Daegu, was increasingly
isolated as the number of infections there rose rapidly.
Europe's biggest outbreak is in Italy, which reported a
seventh death from the flu-like virus and 220 infections.
Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Iraq on Monday recorded their
first new coronavirus cases, all involving people who had been
in Iran, which raised its toll from the disease to 12 dead and
61 infected. Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Turkey imposed
travel and immigration curbs on Iran. Still, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus said that using the word "pandemic" did not fit the
facts. "We must focus on containment while preparing for a
potential pandemic," he told reporters in Geneva, adding that
the world was not witnessing an uncontained spread or
large-scale deaths.
Saudi Aramco expects the coronavirus impact on oil demand to
be short-lived and for consumption to rise in the second half of
the year, Chief Executive Amin Nasser told Reuters. On Monday, local health officials in China said that four
provinces had lowered their virus emergency response measures.
Goldman Sachs said commodity prices could fall sharply
before any rebound on the back of Chinese stimulus efforts.
"The promise of stimulus has made commodity markets act like
equity markets, building up risks of a sharp correction," the
bank said in a note.
Bank of America Global Research kept its 2020 forecast for
the price of Brent crude steady at $62 a barrel, citing
voluntary and involuntary declines in OPEC supply and the
resilience of markets to geopolitical shocks. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump has decided to step
up a sanctions campaign on Venezuela's oil sector and will be
more aggressive in punishing people and companies that violate
them, the top U.S. envoy to the Latin American country said.