DUBAI (Reuters) — The United Arab Emirates’ Minister of Energy said on Monday the oil market should not overreact to the possible impact of an outbreak of coronavirus in China on demand.

Suhail al-Mazrouei said he was confident in the ability of China and the international community to bring the current outbreak under control. In a statement he declared:

It is important that we do not exaggerate projections related to future decreases in oil demand due to events in China, and the market does not over-react based on psychological factors, driven by some traders in the market.

Meanwhile, crude prices extended declines on Monday, dropping below $60 (Brent, below $53 for WTI) for the first time in nearly three months as the death toll from China’s coronavirus rose and more businesses were forced to shut down, stoking expectations of slowing oil demand.