Oil slips to $26 as weak demand, supply glut weigh - Reuters

Oil slips to $26 as weak demand, supply glut weigh - Reuters:

Oil slipped to around $26 a barrel on Friday as weak demand due to the coronavirus crisis and excess supply pressured the market, even as OPEC and its allies began a record output cut.

The global oil benchmark, Brent crude, has collapsed 60 percent in 2020 and reached a 21-year low last month as the coronavirus pandemic squeezed demand and OPEC and other producers pumped at will before reaching a new supply cut deal which began on Friday.

Brent LCOc1 for July fell 45 cents, or 1.7%, to $26.03 at 1025 GMT. U.S. crude CLc1 for June slipped 46 cents, or 2.4%, to $18.38. Both benchmarks rallied sharply on Thursday. Brent rose 12% and U.S. crude gained 25%.

Output cuts of 9.7 million barrels per day by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers, known as OPEC+, began on Friday. Even so, there are doubts the reduction, the largest ever agreed, will be enough.