Oil Falls on Beijing’s COVID-19 Warning, Inflation Worries

Oil and gas tanks are seen at an oil warehouse at a port in Zhuhai, China, on Oct. 22, 2018. Aly Song/Reuters

LONDON—Oil dropped about $2 a barrel on Monday as a flare-up in COVID-19 cases in Beijing dented hopes of a Chinese demand rebound, while worries about more interest rate hikes to control rampant inflation added further pressure.

Beijing’s most populous district Chaoyang announced three rounds of mass testing to quell a COVID-19 outbreak that emerged last week.