Global Oil Prices Dipped on Friday as New COVID-19 Cases Jump Globally

Global oil prices decline on Friday as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases surged across the world.

Brent crude oil, against which Nigerian oil is priced, declined from $43.47 per barrel it traded on Thursday during the Asian trading session to $41.60 per barrel on Friday at around 11:39 am Nigerian time.

While the price of US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil dipped from $40.97 per barrel it traded on Thursday to $38.78 on Friday.

Oil traders and investors are worried that the rising number of COVID-19 new cases would disrupt demand for the commodity and force refineries to shut down once again.

“I do not suspect many oil traders will be looking to place significant bids in the market today, suggesting prices may continue to wallow into the weekend,” said Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at AxiCorp.

Despite efforts by both OPEC plus and other top oil producers to halt falling oil prices and reduce global oil glut, the lack of a cure for COVID-19 remained global concerns.

As previously stated on this platform, until a cure is found the world would have to find a way to either work through COVID-19 or shut down activities completely.

This is coming a day after the Federal Government of Nigeria announced that it was putting school resumption plan on hold following the latest COVID-19 report that shows Nigeria’s confirmed cases crossed 30,000 on Wednesday.

In the United States, more than 60,000 new COVID-19 cases were reported on Thursday, forcing lawmakers to start contemplating the second phase of COVID-19 lockdown.