Oil slipped to around $26 a barrel on Friday as weak demand due to the coronavirus crisis and excess supply pressured the market, even as OPEC and its allies began a record output cut.
The global oil benchmark, Brent crude, has collapsed 60 percent in 2020 and reached a 21-year low last month as the coronavirus pandemic squeezed demand and OPEC and other producers pumped at will before reaching a new supply cut deal which began on Friday.
Brent (LCOc1) for July fell 46 cents, or 1.7%, to $26.02 at 0825 GMT. U.S. crude (CLc1) for June slipped 2 cents to $18.82. Both benchmarks rallied sharply on Thursday. Brent rose 12% and U.S. crude gained 25%.
Output cuts of 9.7 million barrels per day by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers began on Friday. Reflecting that effort, the imbalance between supply and demand is set to be halved in May, according to Rystad Energy.
Source : Reuters