Oil prices slip as US stimulus vote delayed

Oil prices slipped back in Asian trade on Thursday, as a Senate vote on a massive stimulus package to help the coronavirus-ravaged US economy was delayed.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was down 1.5 percent, changing hands for about $24 a barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude was down 0.4 percent at around $27 a barrel.

Prices had earlier rallied strongly after US Senate leaders agreed a $2 trillion package which would be the largest ever rescue in the US, dwarfing even the bailouts of 2008 during the global financial crisis.

But the Senate vote was delayed as key lawmakers in both the Democratic and Republican parties objected to various measures included in the bill.

Oil prices have plunged in recent weeks as economies grind to a halt due to the pandemic.

Analysts warned that the world would run out of storage space for surplus oil if producers do not work together to limit output.