Oil extended its worst weekly run since 2018 as hopes for an extraordinary OPEC+ meeting diminished while the outlook for a peace deal in Libya improved.
Futures in New York dropped below $50, after posting a fifth weekly decline last week. OPEC+ ministers are unlikely to hold an extraordinary early meeting to discuss the impact of the coronavirus on oil markets, but a meeting planned for March will go ahead as scheduled, RIA Novosti newswire reported, citing Azerbaijan Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov.
Meanwhile, a United Nations-backed two-day meeting in Cairo on ending the conflict in Libya is being closely monitored for signs of a deal to restore output. While imminent large-scale resumption is unlikely, a truce may add over 1 million barrels per day to the already over-supplied international market.
West Texas Intermediate crude for March fell 51 cents to $49.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:28 a.m. Sydney time.
Brent for April delivery traded 64 cents, or 1.2%, lower at $53.93 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.
Source : Bloomberg