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Oil prices have fallen as oil demand in China has weakened following the coronavirus outbreak.
Traders are waiting to see if Russia will join OPEC+ group to make further cuts to balance the market.
According to Reuters, Brent crude futures were down $0.15 to $53.63 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures fell $0.17 cents to $50.15 a barrel.
Reuters said that supply worries have not eased. This follows Russia’s announcement that it requires more time to decide whether to implement the supply curbs recommended by OPEC+ group. These would cut production by a further 600,000 barrels per day (bpd).
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By GlobalDataSince January 2019, OPEC+ has been implementing production cuts of 1.2 million barrels per day (Mmbpd).
Russia Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that Moscow needed more time to assess the situation. Novak also added crude production growth in the US would slow down.
Algerian Oil Minister Mohamed Arkab said: “The coronavirus epidemic has a negative impact on economic activities, especially on the transport, tourism and industry, in China particularly, and also increasingly in the Asian region and gradually in the world.”
Meanwhile, Reuters said that oil traders have concerns that the proposed supply cuts will be insufficient. This comes as China’s refiners indicated that they would be reducing production by around 940,000bpd this month.
The death toll from coronavirus has reached 910, including the one reported in the Philippines. The number of cases of infection has increased to 40,546 globally as of the end of 9 February. This is an increase of 97 new deaths from the day before.