* Brent settles below $41/bbl
* Bank of England, EU lower economic forecasts
* Biden edges closer to win, Republicans set to hold Senate
(Adds commentary, updates with settlement prices)
By Laura Sanicola
NEW YORK, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell nearly 1% on
Thursday, weighed down by the steady rise in coronavirus
infections and as the outcome of the U.S. presidential election
had still not been settled.
Brent crude LCOc1 settled down 30 cents, or 0.7%, at
$40.93 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude
CLc1 was down 36 cents, or 0.9%, at $38.79. Both contracts
jumped about 4% on Wednesday.
The European Union's executive commission lowered its
economic forecast, adding that said the economy would not
rebound to pre-virus levels until 2023.
"Despite some surprisingly bullish crude data this week, the
oil market will still need to contend with major demand
uncertainties related to COVID-19," said Jim Ritterbusch,
president of Ritterbusch and Associates in Galena, Illinois,
referring to a 8 million-barrel draw in U.S. crude stockpiles.
Italy posted its highest one day of infections on Thursday,
while the United States surpassed 100,000 infections in a day
last week, a record.
The Bank of England increased its bond-buying stimulus as it
prepared for economic damage from new coronavirus lockdowns and
the looming risk of Brexit. The bank said Britain's economy was
set to shrink a record 11% over the course of 2020 overall.
"There's fatigue from the market on the renewed lockdown and
the efforts and the damage to be done to the economy," said John
Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York. The lockdowns
in Europe will remove 1.5 million barrels per day of demand,
Kilduff added.
Democratic candidate Joseph Biden predicted victory over
President Donald Trump after winning two critical U.S. states
while the Republican incumbent alleged fraud without evidence,
filed lawsuits and demanded recounts in a bitter contest that
has yet to be decided. Current vote counting and trends suggest the Republicans are
poised to retain control of the U.S. Senate, while the Democrats
will hold a slimmed majority in the House of Representatives.
Oil prices had surged on Wednesday on growing expectations
that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and
its allies, together called OPEC+, would hold off on bringing
back 2 million bpd of supply in January, given demand has been
sapped by new COVID-19 lockdowns.
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Multimedia U.S. election coverage https://www.reuters.com/world/us-election2020
Biden edges closer to White House win as Trump mounts legal
challenge ID:nL1N2HR0BX
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