Oil Hits New Lows as Russia Reportedly Refuses to Cut More

By Ritu,

Capital Sands

Crude oil futures plummeted on Friday as Russia reportedly refused to support the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ proposal to cut crude output by an additional 1.5 million barrels a day.

OPEC had agreed its proposal on Thursday, desperate to bring the global oil market back into balance. Demand has fallen through the first quarter due to the coronavirus outbreak and major agencies now expect no demand growth at all over the year as a whole.

Reuters cited unnamed sources saying that Russia would only agree to extend the current deal on output restraint, arguing that fiscal measures to support demand could still be taken by governments around the world.

Brent crude futures were down 4.4% at $47.78 a barrel, having earlier hit an intraday low of $47.02. U.S. crude futures were down 4.3% at $43.95.