Oil Rallies First Time in 10 Days After Trump’s Comments

By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil prices jumped for the first time since Saudi Arabia triggered an oil war earlier this month with Russia, as major futures turned green after consecutive days of falling.

The Brent Crude, which has fallen more than 45 percent in the last two months, rose by 12.59 percent or $3.36 on Thursday night to trade at $30.06 per barrel, while the United States’ West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude, which had fallen to as low as $20, gained 24.92 percent or $5.10 to trade at $26.02 per barrel.

This growth in crude oil prices followed reports that the United States could possibly intervene in the Russia-Saudi Arabia oil war that has sent prices to their lowest in years. The market has recently been plagued with demand and supply troubles caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

The President of the United States, Mr Donald Trump, spoke on the possibility of the world’s largest oil producer intervening in the matter between the Kingdom and Russia.

“We have a lot of power over the situation and we’re trying to find some kind of medium ground,” Mr Trump said during a White House press conference in Washington D.C. on Thursday.

“They’re in a fight on price, they’re in a fight on output, and at the appropriate time I’ll get involved,” he said.

Also, oil picked up when there were reports of no new case of COVID-19 in the city of Wuhan in China, where the virus emanated from. Scientists all over the world are currently working on a vaccine to tackle to tackle the contagion.

Chinese media reported no new local infections on Thursday for the first time since the coronavirus struck in December 2019, paralyzing businesses in the world’s largest importer of oil. The coronavirus has since spread to more than 170 countries, forcing suspension or disruption of travels, banking operations, public gatherings and major events around the globe.

Back home, the current price of the Brent Crude is at par with the new oil benchmark set by the Nigerian government for the 2020 budget, $30 per barrel.

Business Post earlier reported that the federal government reviewed the 2020 budget, by cutting the total spendings for the fiscal year by N1.5 trillion, while the oil benchmark was pruned to $30 per barrel from $57 per barrel as a result of crash in crude oil prices, the main source of foreign earnings for Nigeria, which is Africa’s largest producer of the commodity.