Oil prices extend losses on price war, virus fallout

News Image

MG News | March 16, 2020 at 09:44 AM GMT+05:00

0:00

March 16, 2020: Oil prices extended the gloom on Monday after a Saudi-Russian price war and an equities meltdown sparked by the coronavirus pandemic saw their biggest weekly losses in more than a decade. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) briefly fell below $30 a barrel, or 5.5 percent, in morning Asian trade before regaining its footing.

It was trading at $31.14 a barrel at around 0200 GMT, down nearly two percent from Friday's close.

The Brent global benchmark was down 2.9 percent at $32.82 a barrel.

Last week's price war began after Saudi Arabia and other members of the OPEC oil cartel pushed for an output cut to combat the impact of the virus outbreak.

But Moscow, the world's second-biggest oil producer, refused -- prompting Riyadh to drive through massive price cuts and pledge to boost production.

The COVID-19 outbreak added to downward pressure as it throttled global equities, with growing concerns over a potential worldwide recession and escalating travel restrictions prompting a crash in demand forecasts.

Prices made a feeble rally late last week after US President Donald Trump announced $50 billion in Federal spending to stem the damage from the coronavirus and plans to buy "large quantities of crude oil" to top up strategic reserves.

But both benchmarks still fell by around 25 percent in the biggest weekly drop since the global financial crisis in 2008, and more losses are expected.

                  "Rallies will likely continue to fade so long as the market continues to weigh the double-whammy of the COVID-19... and the massive jump in supply," said Stephen Innes, global chief markets strategist at AxiCorp.

 

AFP/APP

 

Related News

Name Price/Vol %Chg/NChg
KSE100 138,597.36
256.32M
-0.05%
-68.14
ALLSHR 85,286.16
608.38M
-0.48%
-413.35
KSE30 42,340.81
77.13M
-0.03%
-12.33
KMI30 193,554.51
76.19M
-0.83%
-1627.52
KMIALLSHR 55,946.05
305.11M
-0.79%
-443.10
BKTi 38,197.97
16.53M
-0.59%
-225.01
OGTi 27,457.35
6.73M
-0.94%
-260.91
Symbol Bid/Ask High/Low
Name Last High/Low Chg/%Chg
BITCOIN FUTURES 117,670.00 121,165.00
117,035.00
-1620.00
-1.36%
BRENT CRUDE 69.23 70.77
69.14
-0.29
-0.42%
RICHARDS BAY COAL MONTHLY 96.50 0.00
0.00
2.20
2.33%
ROTTERDAM COAL MONTHLY 104.50 104.50
104.50
-0.30
-0.29%
USD RBD PALM OLEIN 998.50 998.50
998.50
0.00
0.00%
CRUDE OIL - WTI 66.03 67.54
65.93
-0.20
-0.30%
SUGAR #11 WORLD 16.79 17.02
16.71
0.05
0.30%

Chart of the Day


Latest News
July 19, 2025 at 04:28 PM GMT+05:00

4.7m families get BISP aid in Punjab


July 19, 2025 at 03:00 PM GMT+05:00

Key Pakistan Market Stats and Economic Indicators


July 19, 2025 at 02:49 PM GMT+05:00

RDA attracts $182m in June


July 19, 2025 at 02:49 PM GMT+05:00

M2 falls by Rs455bn in a week



Top 5 things to watch in this week

Pakistan Stock Movers
Name Last Chg/%Chg
Name Last Chg/%Chg