Oil prices fell for the second day in a row yesterday, in light of a general decline in global markets after the United States imposed a travel ban from Europe, after the World Health Organization decided to declare the outbreak of the Corona virus as an epidemic. And "Brent crude" fell 1.65 dollars, or 4.6%, to 34.14 dollars a barrel, which is just over the low levels reached earlier. The "Brent crude" contract fell about 4% the day before yesterday.
The US crude, "West Texas", fell 1.38 dollars, or 4.2%, to 31.6 dollars a barrel, after dropping 4% in the previous session as well.
It is noteworthy that the benchmarks crude are about 50% lower than high levels reached in January 2020, and they recorded last Monday, the largest drop in one day since the Gulf War in 1991 after a price war.
The price difference between Brent prices widened in the near and long term to record the biggest difference in five years, which prompted dealers to fill the tanks with oil for the purpose of storing it for delivery at a later time, while betting that prices will rise. The US Energy Information Administration and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries have cut forecasts for oil demand due to the outbreak of the Corona virus, while they now expect demand to shrink in the current quarter.
In addition, three informed sources stated that it is unlikely to hold a technical meeting of «OPEC» and independent producers planned on March 18, in a development that predicts that no agreement has been reached so far on steps to support the market.
"It is likely that the meeting will be postponed," said one of the sources, referring to the March 18 committee meeting in Vienna. Another source stated that Saudi Arabia will not attend the meeting of the joint technical committee and it is unlikely that it will participate, even by phone.
50%
A decrease in the prices of "Brent" and "West Texas" from the high levels reached in January 2020.
"Brent crude" fell 4.6% to $ 34.14 a barrel.