Monday 16 March 2020

Oil slumps below $30 a barrel as coronavirus spreads, OPEC rancor remains elevated - Reuters

Oil slumps below $30 a barrel as coronavirus spreads, OPEC rancor remains elevated - Reuters:

Oil prices fell below $30 a barrel on Monday as the worldwide coronavirus outbreak worsened over the weekend, exacerbating fears that government lockdowns to contain the spread of the disease would spark a global recession.

Top global oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia, having failed to agree on a plan to curb supply as the fall in global economic activity destroys oil demand, and have turned on each other to start a price war.

Saudi Aramco reiterated on Monday its plans to boost output to record levels to take a bigger share of the global market.

Brent crude LCOc1 settled down $3.80, or 11.2%, to $30.05 a barrel. The international benchmark earlier fell to $29.52 a barrel, its lowest since January 2016.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 fell $3.03, or 9.6%, to end at $28.70 a barrel, its lowest since February 2016.


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