Experts say coronavirus, lack of economic activity, to keep oil prices subdued after crash

Record ID: 1470319

  • Title: Experts say coronavirus, lack of economic activity, to keep oil prices subdued after crash
  • Date: 21st April 2020
  • Summary: SINGAPORE (APRIL 21, 2020) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF ANALYTICS FOR ASIA AT S&P GLOBAL PLATTS, KANG WU, SAYING "So behind the supply and demand is a quickly filling up of the (oil) storage globally so we are approaching the kind of potential global curtailment, containment I would say, ceilings of the storage. And that is overall driving factor behind the
  • Embargoed: 5th May 2020 09:15
  • Keywords: Brent crude COVID-19 OPEC Oil price WTI commodities coronavirus markets
  • Location: OFF COAST OF SINGAPORE / SINGAPORE / NORTH SEA, NORWAY / EL SHARARA, LIBYA / NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / WUHAN, CHINA
  • City: OFF COAST OF SINGAPORE / SINGAPORE / NORTH SEA, NORWAY / EL SHARARA, LIBYA / NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / WUHAN, CHINA
  • Country: Various
  • Topics: Commodities Markets,Economic Events
  • Reuters ID: LVA006CAFNBD3
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Analysts in Asia on Tuesday (April 21) said they expect oil prices to remain subdued in the near future, dampened by a lack a demand, after U.S. crude oil futures turned negative over for the first time in history overnight as traders sold heavily because of rapidly filling storage space.
    The U.S. contract WTI ended Monday (April 20) trade at a stunning minus $37.63 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, also slumped, but was nowhere near as weak because more storage is available worldwide.
    "So behind the supply and demand is a quickly filling up of the (oil) storage globally so we are approaching potential global containment I would say, ceilings of the storage," said Head Of Analytics for Asia at S&P Global Platts, Kang Wu, who added that this physical limitation will play out on prices in the next quarter.
    Physical demand for crude has dried up, creating a global supply glut as billions of people stay home to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Senior Manager for Commodities at Phillip Futures, Avtar Sandu said the major oil producers, OPEC and Russia, need to further cut supply despite agreeing to a cut earlier in March.
    With some major economies starting to ease their lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, oil prices may get a lift, according to analysts. However, most expect prices to hover below $40 a barrel for the year and for the prices to lag behind the opening up of economic activity by a few months.
    (Production: Travis Teo)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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