Comments
Oil prices climbed on Friday after Russia said it backs a recommendation for Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers to deepen output cuts amid falling demand for crude as China battles the coronavirus epidemic that has hit global markets.
Brent crude futures rose 34 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $55.27 a barrel by 0250, but were heading for a fifth weekly loss amid lingering fears over the impact of the virus.
United States (US) West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 28 cents, or 0.5 per cent, at $51.23 a barrel, also heading for a fifth consecutive week of losses.
Three sources said that a panel advising the OPEC and allies led by Russia, known as the OPEC+ group,suggested provisionally cutting output by 600,000 barrels per day (bpd).
“We support this idea,” said Sergei Lavrov, Russia's Foreign Minister, when asked about the proposal at a news conference in Mexico City later in the day.
The OPEC+ group, which pumps more than 40 per cent of the world's oil, has been withholding supply and agreed to deepen the cuts by 500,000 bpd from the start of this year, to 1.7 million bpd, nearly 2 per cent of global demand.
“While there is no firm view on the outbreak's impact on oil demand, OPEC is most likely focused on the status-quo short-term crisis rather than a prolonged one,” Eurasia group said, estimating a Chinese demand contraction of as much 3 million bpd in the first quarter from 2019 levels.
Oil prices have fallen by more than a fifth since the outbreak of the virus in the city of Wuhan in China.
Chinese President Xi Jinping declared a “people's war” on the epidemic as China's Hubei province, where Wuhan is located, reported 69 new deaths, taking the total in the country to more than 600.
“The impact of the coronavirus on the oil market remains largely a Chinese demand story with weakening jet fuel demand and economic run cuts, but demand destruction outside of China has been minimal, for now,” RBC Capital Markets analysts said in a note.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.