Oil prices fell during Monday’s trading, amid the ongoing fears of the impact of the corona crisis on global oil demand and as investors wait for OPEC and large producers to cut production further.

As of 09:26 GMT, Brent crude reached $54.38 per barrel, compared to the sessions open at $53.84 a barrel, erasing its earlier gains when it touched a high at $54.67.  

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures traded at $50.16 per barrel, noting that it slumped to a low of $49.30 last week, the lowest since January 2019.

Crude oil has entered a bear market after falling nearly 24 percent from the top of $65.63 registered on January 8, with the spread of the coronavirus, which has reduced demand in the world's largest oil importers and raised concerns about oversupply.

Russia said last week that it would need more time to decide on the recommendation of the OPEC Advisory Committee and its allies to cut further crude production by 600,000 barrels per day.

On the other hand, investors are waiting for the release of the oil production report for OPEC member states for the past month later this week.

Regarding the latest updates about the Coronavirus, the death toll in China has risen to more than 908 so far, while the number of cases infected have surged to 3,062.

In an effort to control the situation, WHO has sent an advance team to China on an international mission after it declared a global health emergency following the outbreak of the Corona virus in China.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the performance of six major currencies against the US dollar, slumped by 0.05 percent at 98.52 after it set a new top at 98.58 on Friday, which is the highest since October 10, 2019.