US crude drops to $ 14 a barrel, its lowest level in 20 years

Shafaq News / Oil prices collapsed to more than two-decade lows Monday as traders grow concerned that storage facilities are reaching their limits, while equities were mixed, with some support coming from signs that the coronavirus may have peaked in Europe and the United States.

By 08:10 Moscow time, US West Texas Intermediate crude fell more than 18.7% to $ 14.84 a barrel.

The Brent mix also fell 1.5% to $ 27.64 a barrel.

Oil markets have fallen in recent weeks to their lowest levels in nearly 20 years, amid closures and travel bans around the world, which have a strong impact on demand.

The drop comes despite the fact that the countries of the "OPEC +" group recently reached an agreement to reduce the group's production by about 10 million barrels per day to absorb the surplus and stimulate global demand.

The market sees this cut as insufficient to compensate for the strong decline in epidemic demand.

ANZ bank said in a note: "Crude oil prices remained under pressure because expectations of low demand are weighing on the general atmosphere."

He added "Although OPEC accepted an unprecedented reduction in production, the oil market is still flooded with oil," expressing fear that "the capacity will run out of storage facilities in the United States."

The US Energy Information Administration announced last week that its stockpiles of crude rose by 19.5 million barrels.