AFP, Singapore :
Oil prices fell more than two percent in Asian trade Friday due to a standoff between top producers Saudi Arabia and Russia, and mounting fears the coronavirus pandemic could spark a global recession.
West Texas Intermediate was down 2.4 at under $31 a barrel while Brent crude slipped 2.1 percent to below $33 a barrel, following heavy losses a day earlier.
The falls came as Asian stocks extended a global rout as concerns grow about the virus’s impact on the world economy.
Crude markets have been plunging this week after top exporter Riyadh began a price war amid a row with Russia on whether to cut output to support the virus-battered energy sector.
And now the virus outbreak is adding to downward pressure, as worries about a global recession dim the outlook for demand even as Saudi Arabia opens the oil taps to win market share.
Oil prices fell more than two percent in Asian trade Friday due to a standoff between top producers Saudi Arabia and Russia, and mounting fears the coronavirus pandemic could spark a global recession.
West Texas Intermediate was down 2.4 at under $31 a barrel while Brent crude slipped 2.1 percent to below $33 a barrel, following heavy losses a day earlier.
The falls came as Asian stocks extended a global rout as concerns grow about the virus’s impact on the world economy.
Crude markets have been plunging this week after top exporter Riyadh began a price war amid a row with Russia on whether to cut output to support the virus-battered energy sector.
And now the virus outbreak is adding to downward pressure, as worries about a global recession dim the outlook for demand even as Saudi Arabia opens the oil taps to win market share.
