Oil's Saudi-driven rally erased by persistent demand fears

Oil fell as persistent economic uncertainty weighs on the outlook for demand, erasing a short-lived surge that followed Saudi Arabia’s surprise pledge to cut more production.

West Texas Intermediate settled Tuesday at the same closing price on Friday, effectively reversing the gain engineered by the Saudis with their weekend announcement. Brent also fell, settling just a few cents above Friday. 

Saudi Arabia’s production cuts “will take some supply off the market, but demand will need to continue to rise if we are to see much higher prices,” said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial Securities.