Oil prices tumble on coronavirus fears

Global commodity markets are shattered by the coronavirus impact. The fuel demand is rapidly declining, thus dragging oil prices down. Brent crude has already slipped to $52 a barrel. In an attempt to contain the virus spread, many countries have imposed travel restrictions. For instance, some airlines have suspended flights to China which resulted in reduced fuel consumption. This year, oil has already lost over 21% of its value. As the coronavirus fears are growing, the commodity prices will hardly recover soon. Investors are trying to get rid of risk assets and are reluctant to buy oil futures. Markets pin high hopes on the upcoming OPEC meeting in Vienna and widely expect the cartel to agree on deeper output cuts. "The pressure on OPEC is immense and the oil market is really testing their resolve right now," - commodity expert Stephen Innes commented.