NNA - Oil prices fell on Wednesday on concerns that rising COVID-19 cases in China, the world's top oil importer, will disrupt its economic recovery as it unwinds its pandemic restrictions, limiting fuel demand growth.

Brent futures for February delivery fell 68 cents, or 0.8%, to $83.65 a barrel, by 0710 GMT. U.S. crude fell 46 cents, or 0.6%, to $79.07 per barrel.

Both benchmarks rose to their highest in three weeks on Tuesday on hopes for a fuel demand boost after the country said it will stop requiring inbound travellers to go into quarantine starting from Jan. 8, a major step towards relaxing stringent curbs on its borders.

But Chinese hospitals have been under intense pressure due to a surge in COVID-19 infections as the country moves towards treating the virus as endemic.

"Even after China eased COVID restrictions, it is difficult for demand to recover in a short time due to the rapid decline of people's outdoor activities due to the massive infection (numbers)," said Leon Li, an analyst at CMC Markets.

Oil refiners in the U.S. on Tuesday were working to resume operations at a dozen facilities knocked offline by freeze weather across much of the country, a recovery that in some cases will stretch into January.—Reuters 

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