Crude rallies on reports of virus breakthrough

摘要

OIL futures soared midweek, catapulted by reports of a medical breakthrough to contain the fast-spreading novel coronavirus in China that has rattled global oil markets in recent weeks. Talks by Opec and allied producers for deeper output cuts added further fuel to the recovery, which brought to a halt 10 days of sustained falls amid concerns about the impact of the virus on oil demand growth. Futures jumped by more than 4% on Wednesday on reports that scientists had developed an effective drug against the coronavirus threatening to cripple the Chinese economy, the world's second-largest economy. Oil had plunged by more than 20% since early January, prompting Opec+, which includes heavyweight Russia, to consider moving up a planned early March meeting in Vienna to February. A bearish report by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), which reported a weekly crude inventory build of 3.4 million barrels, did little to slow the rally.