Oil plunges as much as 17% as #UAE says support output hike | Reuters

Oil plunges as much as 17% as UAE says support output hike | Reuters

Oil prices plunged over 17% on Wednesday after the United Arab Emirates said the OPEC member would support boosting supply into a market in disarray because of supply disruptions caused by sanctions imposed on Russia after it invaded Ukraine.

Brent crude fell more than 17%, or $22, during a sharp selloff before recovering some of it to trade down $17.16, or 13.4%, at $110.82 a barrel at 2:02 p.m. ET (1902 GMT). U.S. crude was down $15.44, or 12.5%, at $108.26.

"We favor production increases and will be encouraging OPEC to consider higher production levels," Ambassador Yousuf Al Otaiba said in a statement tweeted by the UAE Embassy in Washington. read more

"That's not nothing. They can probably bring about 800,000 barrels to the market very quickly, even immediately, bringing us one-seventh of the way there in replacing Russian supply," said Bob Yawner, director of energy futures at Mizuho.