2020-03-19 12:32:00
OIL PRICE SUPPORT: NEAR $29
PLATTS - 19 Mar 2020 - Crude oil futures were supported early afternoon in Europe Thursday following large monetary announcements overnight, but remained weighed on by COVID-19 demand concerns at a time of increasing supply by OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia, among others.
May ICE Brent crude futures -- the front-month contract hit its lowest since 2003 on Wednesday -- were up 80 cents/b at $25.68/b, with the April NYMEX crude contract up $1.77/b at $22.14/b.
Futures saw support from the European Central Bank's launch of its response to the coronavirus pandemic, including a Eur750 billion ($805 billion) package to buy government and company debt across Europe.
"Extraordinary times require extraordinary action," ECB chief Christine Lagarde said.
However, concerns of demand destruction were still rife within the markets as Australia and New Zealand became the latest countries to close their borders to travelers.
Global oil demand will contract by 2.8 million b/d, or 2.8%, this year as worldwide measures to slow the spread of coronavirus pandemic continue to escalate, Norway-based consultant Rystad Energy forecast Wednesday.
"The ECB move has brought stability to the markets for now. But we have to play it by the hour. It is difficult to predict what will happen this afternoon," Oliver Jakob of Petromatrix said.
"There are too many things at play. It is exhausting and it is difficult to make a price forecast for the next three days."
There was no sign of Russia and Saudi Arabia being any closer to resolving an output dispute that led to Saudi Arabia planning to supply the market with 12.3 million b/d of crude over coming months.
US Republican senators have begun to pressure the kingdom into change its course. Some 13 Republican senators sent a letter to Saudi Arabia's de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, calling the US a "strong and reliable partner" of the kingdom for decades and urging the Saudis to be a "force for stability" in the global oil market to counter the demand impacts of the spread of the coronavirus.
President Trump is said by sources to have had little engagement with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, as he sees falling prices at the pump as beneficial for his re-election campaign later this year.
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Earlier:
2020, March, 19, 12:35:00
OIL PRICE: ABOVE $27
Brent jumped $2.29, or 9.2%, at $27.16 a barrel, WTI gained $3.20, or 15.7%, to $23.52
2020, March, 19, 12:30:00
EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK: €750 BLN
ECB announces €750 billion Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP)
2020, March, 19, 12:25:00
EURO BONDS DOWN
Government bond yields across the euro zone fell on Thursday after the European Central Bank stepped in with emergency stimulus measures to calm markets in the face of the coronavirus outbreak.
2020, March, 18, 12:25:00
GLOBAL STOCKS DOWN
Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 4.5%, boding ill for European stock markets.
2020, March, 18, 12:20:00
U.S. STIMULUS $850 BLN
The White House is proposing a roughly $850 billion economic rescue package Tuesday amid the coronavirus outbreak, a sweeping stimulus for businesses and taxpayers amid unseen since the Great Recession of 2008.
2020, March, 18, 12:15:00
FRANCE'S STIMULUS $50 BLN
Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire announced a €45 billion ($50 billion) aid package to help businesses and employees cope with the escalating health crisis and brace for a recession.
2020, March, 18, 12:10:00
SAUDI ARABIA'S OIL 12 MBD
"Saudi Aramco can sustain low oil prices for a long time," Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said on an earnings call. "We are very comfortable with a $30/b price [and] can meet our dividend and shareholder expectations at $30/b and even lower."
2020, March, 17, 13:25:00
IMF OFFERS HELP $1 TLN
The IMF stands ready to mobilize its $1 trillion lending capacity to help our membership.
