Oil price rises amidst expectation of peace meeting

Brent crude was up by 3.40%, as it stands at $34.30 at 11.23am Nigerian time on Thursday, having climbed up as much as 5% the day before following expectation of a peace meeting between Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Stakeholders are optimistic about the meeting than the gathering they had in March, where they failed to agree to extend the oil production cut, which led to the oil price war between the Saudis and Russians.

Consequently, the proposed agreement between OPEC and its allies is expected to reduce between 10 million and 15 million barrels of crude oil daily. Russia has reportedly agreed to reduce its output by 1.6 million barrels of crude oil per day.

In addition, global oil demand has slumped significantly as COVID-19 pandemic triggered travel restrictions and businesses shutting down around the world. In India, the world’s third-largest consumer of crude oil, the demand for crude has collapsed as much as 70%.

Meanwhile, the Asian equity market, its trading sessions were mixed on Thursday after a three-day bullish run, with investors raising concerns about the spread of COVID-19 and how soon the world economy will pick up.

Stocks in Japan plunged with the Nikkei 225 index declining 0.23% but were higher in Australia and South Korea. Australia’s ASX 200 was up 1.51% and South Korea’s Kospi up 1.3%.

In China, major stocks fell by 0.47% while the broader Shanghai Composite fell 0.19%. Hang Seng Index was also down by 1.17%.

Meanwhile, in America, the US S&P 500 Index futures climbed up after the Index jumped 3.4% yesterday, as Joe Biden emerged as the candidate of the Democratic Party in the US presidential race, bringing its gains from March lows to more than 20%.