Oil records worst day since pandemic as #UAE calls for output hike | Reuters

Oil records worst day since pandemic as UAE calls for output hike | Reuters

Global oil prices on Wednesday posted their biggest plunge since the early pandemic days nearly two years ago, after the United Arab Emirates said the OPEC member would support increasing output into a market in disarray because of supply disruptions caused by sanctions imposed on Russia after it invaded Ukraine.

Brent crude futures fell more than 17% during the session before settling down $16.84, or 13.2%, at $111.14 a barrel, their worst one-day decline since April 21, 2020. U.S. crude futures ended $15.44, or 12.5%, lower at $108.70, their worst day since November.

"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 Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho.