Ovunc Kutlu
03 April 2020•Update: 03 April 2020
ANKARA
The price of Brent oil price was heading for a weekly gain of around 23% on Friday as the global oil market awaits action from OPEC to trim some of the oversupply in the global oil market caused by low demand.
The price of Brent crude was trading at $28.94 per barrel at 1200GMT on Friday, as the international benchmark was heading for a 23.2% weekly gain after it opened Monday at $23.48 a barrel.
American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $26.71 a barrel at the same time, heading for a 33% weekly increase, after starting Monday at $20.07 per barrel.
Both benchmarks on Monday hit their lowest levels since 2002 as coronavirus keeps global oil demand low and caused a massive glut in global markets.
But a surge in prices came on Thursday, when both benchmarks soared by more than 16% on a daily basis, after U.S. President Donald Trump said he spoke to Saudi and Russian leaders about a possible cut in production.
Trump said he was hoping and expecting the two countries to curb production 10-15 million barrels a day, although Moscow later rebuffed his statements.
On Friday, Azerbaijan's Energy Ministry announced that OPEC members will hold a video conference on Monday to discuss how they can stabilize the oil market.
Later on Friday, Trump is expected to meet with major U.S. oil executives to discuss recent developments in global markets.
On a March 6 meeting in Austria, OPEC members, led by Saudi Arabia and their allies including Russia, failed to make deeper and longer cuts into their production levels.
It remains unclear whether Russia will take part in the video conference on Monday.
