Oil prices fall more than 3% after Trump's coronavirus address

[SINGAPORE] Oil prices plunged more than three percent Thursday after US President Donald Trump announced a 30-day ban on all travel from Europe to the United States over the coronavirus pandemic.

West Texas Intermediate slipped 3.7 per cent to under US$32 a barrel while Brent crude was off 3.3 per cent at US$34 a barrel.

Both contracts extended heavy losses from a day earlier, which came after Saudi Arabia and Gulf partner the UAE stepped up a price war by vowing to pump millions more barrels of crude.

Crude markets have been in turmoil since the start of the week, when they suffered their biggest one-day drop in a generation after Riyadh slashed prices following a row with Moscow about output cuts.

Prices briefly bounced after Mr Trump began addressing the nation on the virus outbreak, which is now hitting the world's top economy hard - but then quickly slipped into the red.

The travel restrictions, which do not apply to Britain, will go into effect Friday at midnight, Mr Trump said.

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The move came after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a pandemic.

Following Mr Trump's announcement, AxiCorp market strategist Stephen Innes said that "if this doesn't get Saudi and Russia back to the table, I don't think anything will".

This week's collapse of oil prices came after Opec kingpin Saudi Arabia had led a push to reduce output further to shore up prices amid slumping demand.

But the move was blocked by Moscow, the world's second-biggest oil producer, prompting Riyadh to slash prices.

AFP