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Oil Prices Jump Beyond 10
% Amid Hopes for a Truce Between Saudi & Russian
02 April 2020
Crude oil futures jumped 10% on
Thursday after the US President Donald Trump said he expects Saudi
Arabia and Russia to reach an agreement soon to end their ongoing price
war and call on Russian President Vladimir Putin to find a solution to
the "difficult" situation in the global oil markets.
Brent crude futures climbed 11.36% ($
2.81) to $ 27.55 per barrel by 0701 GMT, while the US WT Intermediate
crude futures increased 10% ($ 2.03) to $ 22.34 a barrel.
Trump said he had recently held talks
with leaders in both Russia and Saudi Arabia and that he believed the
two countries would conclude an agreement within few days to end the
price war taking place which would lead to a reduction in production and
a return of prices to rise.
He also said he had invited oil
company executives to the White House to discuss methods to help the
sector that was "destroyed" by the collapse of demand on energy during
the crisis of Corona virus pandemic and a price war between Riyadh and
Moscow.
Putin said at a cabinet meeting on
Wednesday that both oil producing and consuming countries must find a
solution that could improve the situation in global oil markets, which
he said was "difficult".
A senior Gulf source familiar with
the matter told Reuters on Thursday that Saudi Arabia supports
cooperation between oil producers to stabilize the market, but Russia's
opposition to a proposal last month to increase production cuts has
caused market turmoil.
Some analysts have warned that there
is still a long way to go through before agreeing to any cuts in
production.
US crude oil stocks increased by 13.8
million barrels in the largest weekly increase since 2016. Analysts
expect these stocks to continue to increase, with refineries curbing
their production and the continuation of low demand on gasoline.