Brent oil trading below $30, after 6% drop on Tuesday

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Brent crude oil was trading below the $30 per barrel mark on Wednesday having seen a massive 6% decline during the previous session as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to keep global oil demand low while raising the supply glut.

The international benchmark was trading at $29.41 per barrel at 0630 GMT on Wednesday for a 0.64% decline after it closed Tuesday at $29.60 a barrel with a 6.74% daily loss.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $20.18 a barrel at the same time for a slight 0.34% gain after it ended the previous day at $20.11 per barrel with a 10.26% daily decline.

With low oil consumption and rising oversupply around the world, oil producers are having a difficult time in storing the excess amount of crude they produce, which is keeping a downward pressure on prices.

Crude oil stocks in the U.S. are estimated to have increased by 13.1 million barrels for the week ending April 10 to reach 486.9 million barrels, according to American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday.

Official data for the weekly update on U.S. crude oil inventories will be released by the country's Energy Information Administration (EIA) later Wednesday.

Most investors are worried that COVID-19 will keep the global economy weak, while the oil market will continue to see low demand this year.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Tuesday that it forecasts the global economy will contract by 3% this year due to COVID-19.