Amid declining global demand for oil due to corona, US oil hit a new record low and fell below 19 dollars, the lowest level in 18 years.

US crude futures fell to $ 18.87 a barrel, the lowest level since 2002.

Texas crude contracts fell more than 8%, and Brent crude contracts fell below $ 28 a barrel.

The drop in oil prices is due to negative data that showed the growth of the Chinese economy in the first quarter of this year, which is the first in about three decades.

The Chinese economy shrank by about 7%, compared to a growth of about 6.4% in the first quarter of last year. The contraction of the Chinese economy is due to the closure as a result of the outbreak of the Corona virus, which affected all sectors.

Crude prices fell dramatically with the outbreak causing the virus worldwide shutdowns, accompanied by travel restrictions that caused demand to plunge, while the Saudi-Russian price war exacerbated the crisis.

Aramco
, three well-informed sources said today, Friday, that Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, had notified some
refineries in Asia that it would supply all of the contracted crude in May.

This comes after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, including Russia, agreed to cut production by 9.7 million barrels per day in May and June, after oil prices reached their lowest levels in 18 years.

The cut aims to ease the oversupply that has been exacerbated by a collapse in global oil demand following the outbreak of the Coruna virus.

The sources said that although there was no change in the quantity of oil supplied, the Saudi state oil giant, Saudi Aramco, made a change to the percentage of its crude grades by increasing the quantities of light Arab crude and reducing the quantities of heavy Arab crude.

Reuters could not immediately reach the company for comment.

Saudi Arabia is expected to cut production by 2.5 million barrels per day in May and June, from a base level of 11 million barrels per day under the terms of the producers agreement.

Despite the cuts, Aramco made significant price cuts to the crude it sells to Asia in May after falling fuel demand and refining margins in Singapore.

Traders say that the price difference between light Arab crude and heavy Arab crude is at an all-time low of 10 cents a barrel, reflecting weak demand for light grades, which generate more
gasoline and diesel, two products that were severely hit by government measures to combat the spread of the virus.

One source said that the narrowing of the price difference may encourage some refineries to process more light crude.