By Adedapo Adesanya
Despite demand worries still affecting prices, crude oil futures rose on Tuesday as Russia continues to delay its agreement to further cuts recommended by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) aimed to help the global market affected by the spread of the coronavirus disease.
Brent Crude is still trading below $54 per barrel after it gained 67 cents or 1.26 percent last night to sell at $53.94 per barrel, while the WTI crude gained 17 cents equivalent to 0.34 percent to trade at $49.74 per barrel.
OPEC and its allies, following deliberations last week, were seeking to extend oil cut up by 600,000 barrels per day to 2.3 million barrels per day till June 2020 to help prices.
However, Russia isn’t interested in extending cuts but noted that it is more interested in extending the period of the current cut of 1.7 million barrels per day till June not that of an additional 600,000 bpd.
Since the meeting wrapped up last week, nothing has yet been confirmed or approved from Russia and this has continued to affect prices of the commodity.
With no provisional meeting scheduled again for now by producers and the OPEC+, all eyes will turn to Vienna on March 5-6 to see what next.
The effect of the coronavirus on oil is damaging because it has affected demand in China as state refiners plan to cut as much as 940,000 barrels per day (bpd) – almost one percent of world demand – from their crude processing rates in February.
It was also reported that oil got a boost from a rally in world equities, which resumed their climb toward record highs on Tuesday on hopes that the virus is peaking.
Latest reports on Tuesday noted that the World Health Organization (WHO) has officially named the disease Covid-19.
“We now have a name for the disease and it’s Covid-19,” WHO chief, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva.
It comes after the death toll from the virus passed 1,000. Tens of thousands of people have been infected.
