New York barrel ends at $ 25.22, a jump of 24%. That of London regains 14.4%, to 28.47 dollars.
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The barrel of New York oil, soaring by nearly 24% Thursday, offset almost all of its losses the previous day thanks to stimulus measures, a hunt for bargains and signs of appeasement in the war prices between Moscow and Ryad.
WTI’s barrel for April delivery finished at $ 25.22, up $ 4.85 from Wednesday’s close.
That of Brent North Sea for delivery in May, listed in London, gained 14.4%, or 3.59 dollars, to finish at 28.47 dollars.
On Wednesday, the two benchmark barrels had one of the worst days in their history, the WTI crashing 24.4% to $ 20.37 and Brent 13% to $ 24.88.
After losing about half their value in just two weeks, they had dropped to their lowest levels in almost 20 years.
Concerns about both the supply and demand of black gold, and the general climate of panic in the markets, cause very high volatility, so that “the double-digit percentages” of evolution have become ” an almost daily habit, ”notes Bjarne Schieldrop, analyst at SEB.
But multiple stimulus packages presented by authorities around the world to cushion the expected economic shock from the coronavirus pandemic, including European and American central banks, brought some relief to the price of black gold on Thursday.
The “bargain hunt” has also helped drive up prices, said David Madden of CMC Markets.
Another encouraging element: the vice-president of the Russian oil company Lukoïl, Leonid Fedun, invited Thursday on the television channel of the Russian daily RBK Russia and Saudi Arabia to resume negotiations to stabilize the situation on the oil market.
The two countries have been waging a price war since their negotiations failed at the most recent summit of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
According to a WSJ article, the US administration plans to intervene with the two parties to force them to restrict their production.
When asked about the matter at a press conference, Donald Trump did not confirm the information, only saying that the administration “is looking for common ground.”
The situation is “devastating for Russia” whose economy depends on crude oil prices and is just as “bad for Saudi Arabia,” said the president. “They have entered a price and production war, and at the appropriate time I will intervene,” he said.
If the drop in black gold prices affects “a big industry” in the United States, it also lowers pump prices for consumers, good news, he said.
According to figures released Wednesday by the United States Energy Information Agency (EIA), the gallon of gasoline (about 3.8 liters) was actually worth an average of $ 2,343 last week, its lowest level ever. one year.
The rebound observed on Thursday “however represents more the high volatility which should continue to shake the world markets, that it does not signal that the prices are ready to rebound firmly after having reached a bottom”, estimates Robbie Fraser of Schneider Electric.
Prices are also helped “by buying instruments to protect downside bets and by the rebound in indices on the stock markets,” according to Andy Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates.
“But prices should remain under pressure in the face of the sharp drop in demand for crude oil,” he adds.
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