Column: Fear of China virus outstrips crude oil supply outages: Russell - Reuters:
A question for the crude oil market. Why is the potential loss of a few hundred thousand barrels per day of demand from the coronavirus in China more important than the actual loss of about 1 million bpd of supply from Libya?
Benchmark Brent crude futures LCOc1 have slumped around 10% since Jan. 20, the last day prices rose before the current losing streak, with the contract ending at $59.32 a barrel on Monday, the weakest close in three months.
The hit to oil prices has come as the number of cases of the new coronavirus outbreak, centered around the Chinese city of Wuhan, has soared and the disease has spread to several other countries.
At least 106 people have died and more than 2,800 have been infected with the virus, and Chinese authorities have effectively locked down Wuhan, a city of some 10 million people, and several other cities.
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