On Tuesday, global oil prices are steadily sliding down amid concerns about quarantine restrictions aimed at combating the COVID-19 pandemic.
So, on the London ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for March decreased by 0.41% to $50.88 per barrel. At the close of trading on Monday, they sank by 1.4% to $51.09 per barrel.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI oil futures for February fell by 0.44% to $47.41 per barrel. On the first trading day of 2021, these futures lost 1.9%. They were estimated at $47.62 per barrel.
Market participants fear that the re-introduction of lockdowns around the world to contain the spread of the new strain of coronavirus will slow down the process of getting back to normal. If this scenario comes true, demand for oil is likely to be sluggish.
In addition, investors are looking forward to the continuation of the meeting of OPEC + members, postponed to Tuesday evening. Yesterday, after a break in the meeting, such a proposal was received simultaneously from the Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan and the Minister of Saudi Arabia.
At the same time, at the beginning of the meeting on Monday, two opposing proposals were on the negotiating table. The first party recommended to increasing oil production in February by 500,000 barrels per day, while the second one suggested keeping it at the January level.
Earlier, only two countries, Russia and Kazakhstan, voted for an increase in production by 0.5 million b/d since February, while all other countries supported the extension of the current level.
Following the December meeting, the alliance agreed on a systematic increase in oil output, which fell drastically in 2020. OPEC+ countries were planning to enhance oil production by a maximum of 500,000 barrels per day from January 1 of this year. The ministers agreed to meet monthly to be able to respond quickly to any market changes.
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