Ana sayfa » Oil prices are up relying on hopes from a near 18-year low

Oil prices are up relying on hopes from a near 18-year low

by BUNKERIST

Oil prices rise from the lowest level in 18 years, hoping that overproduction concerns may eventually ease.

Oil recovered on Tuesday after Trump and Putin agreed to meet in order to stabilize the energy markets.

Brent crude LCOc1 was up by 30 cents, or 1.3%, at $23.06 a barrel by 0635 G5MT, after closing on Monday at $22.76, its lowest finish since November 2002.

U.S. crude Clc1 was up by $1.21, or 6.0%, at $21.30 a barrel, after settling in the earlier session at $20.09, lowest since February 2002.

OPEC and other producers, including Russia, did not agree on deeper cuts to support oil prices in early March. Then an oil supply and price war started between Saudi Arabia and Russia. The travel restrictions and prohibitions that came with the eruption of the coronavirus on top of all this caused the already low demand to drop further.

As a sign of how well the market is supplied, the front-month Brent futures contract for May, is currently at a discount of $13.95 per barrel to the November contract LCOc1-LCOc7, the widest contango spread ever seen.

The Contango market implies that traders expect the oil to be higher in the future and want to store oil for later sales.

The actual leader of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Saudi Arabia, says plans to increase 10.6 million barrels (bpd) daily from May. Meanwhile, global oil refineries state that European refineries have reduced production by at least 1.3 million bpd due to the drop in demand for transportation fuel. Global oil demand is expected to drop by 1.2 million bpd or 1.2% in 2020, driven by the coronavirus pandemic.