Oil rebounds from two-decade lows

NEW YORK: Brent crude oil rebounded from two days of losses and US futures surged on Wednesday, bolstered by tentative discussions of additional supply cuts from OPEC producers and US inventory builds that were less dire than some anticipated.

Oil trading has been more volatile than ever in recent days, as the market has become overwhelmed by a growing supply glut and catastrophic declines in demand as governments order people to stay at home, restricting travel and halting daily life, to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

US futures fell deep into negative territory on Monday, closing a record minus $37.63 a barrel, while Brent touched its lowest level since June 1999 early Wednesday.  Brent touched $15.98 a barrel, its lowest since June 1999, before turning around. As of 12:06 pm EDT (1606 GMT), it was up $1.38, or 7.3%, to $20.73. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for June delivery rose $3.06, or 26%, to $14.63 a barrel.

Since the start of the year, Brent has fallen more than 65%, while WTI has dropped around 75%. The world’s major oil producers attempted to wrest control of spiralling inventories by announcing a collective cut of 9.7 million barrels per day in supply in early April.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 23^rd, 2020.

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