Around 4:15 p.m., a barrel of London plunged 6.3% to 24.68 dollars, shortly after touching 24.24 dollars.
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Oil prices plummeted Friday, in the wake of their relapse of the day before, undermined by a stalled demand in the face of a plethora of supply, Brent hitting a new low in 17 years.
Around 3:15 p.m. GMT (4:15 p.m. in Paris), a barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in May was worth 24.68 dollars in London, down 6.30% compared to the close of Thursday, shortly after touching 24 , 24 dollars, a level seen more since 2003.
In New York, the American barrel of WTI for May dropped 5.18%, to 21.43 dollars.
The day before, the WTI had already plunged by 7.7% and the Brent by 3.8%.
“Oil remains under pressure” in a feverish market, marked since the day before by “an alarming prognosis for the head of the IEA who sees demand potentially collapsing,” noted Alastair Munro, of Marex Spectron.
International Energy Agency (IEA) chief Fatih Birol said the bleakest prospects for demand for black gold on Thursday.
He said there would be a “sharp decline” in demand for oil in the first quarter of this year and an “even larger decline in the second quarter” due to quarantine measures imposed in many countries due to the coronavirus.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva agreed with this on Friday, saying it was “clear” that the global economy has now entered into recession as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic.
To support the global economy and “counter the social, economic and financial repercussions of the pandemic” of the new coronavirus, the G20 member countries announced Thursday their intention to inject “more than 5,000 billion dollars” at a summit virtual emergency.
But “to start up, oil prices will need a physical response, not paper,” said SEB analyst Bjarne Schieldrop on Friday.
“People have to use their cars, fly and go back to work to see demand for oil – and therefore prices – rise,” he added in a note.
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