Oil price fall heavily 6% as US bans travel around the coronavirus pandemic from Europe
US crude was down $1.87 after slipping 4 % in the previous week, down $31.11
Oil prices slumped again on 12 Mar 2020 amid a broader market rout after the United States banned travel from Europe following a declaration that the coronavirus outbreak is now a pandemic.
As Saudi Arabia promised to lift oil production to a record high in a confrontation with Russia, the prospect of a flood of cheap supply exacerbated investor worry. About 0214 GMT, Brent crude traded down $2.12, or 5.9 %, at $33.67, having flipped into and out of positive terrain before the U.S. announcement. On March12,2020, the deal fell almost 4 %.
Oil is down around 50% from highs reached in January,2020. Global shares also smashed after U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States will suspend all travel from Europe as he unveiled measures to contain the coronavirus epidemic.
According to UAE's national oil company, ADNOC, it plans to raise crude sales to more than 4 million barrels per day (bpd) and rush a push to boost capacity by a quarter to 5 million bpd.
Without OPEC+, the global oil industry has lost its regulator and now only market dynamics will control the equilibrium between supply and demand, said Espen Erlingsen, Head of Upstream Research at Rystad Energy, who forecasts that oil would have to plunge to the $20 level to reach an equilibrium.
weekly data on U.S. inventories showed nominal effects from the coronavirus pandemic. Crude stocks increased by 7.7 million barrels, but inventories of gasoline and diesel fell abruptly, as refining runs remain at seasonally low levels
