<p class="title">Oil prices extended their slump Wednesday, with WTI hitting the lowest level since 2002 as planned output cuts were deemed insufficient to offset a <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tag/coronavirus">coronavirus</a>-fuelled slump in demand.</p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/coronavirus-news-live-updates-3-deaths-in-telangana-1-new-case-in-manipur-all-returned-from-nizamuddin-meet-817763.html"><b>Track live updates on coronavirus here</b></a></p>.<p class="bodytext">The benchmark WTI contract tumbled to $19.20 per barrel, the lowest level in 18 years.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Shortly after, around 0920 GMT, WTI was down 2.3 percent at $19.66 per barrel and Brent showed a 3.6-percent loss at $28.54.</p>.<p class="bodytext"><b>Also Read: </b><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/coronavirus-india-update-state-wise-total-number-of-confirmed-cases-deaths-on-april-15-825539.html"><b>Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases</b></a></p>.<p class="bodytext">"Crude oil has been hit hard... as a massive drop in demand highlights the shortcomings of the OPEC+ production cut," noted Joshua Mahony, senior market analyst at IG trading group.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Whether today's slump in oil prices serves to rally OPEC+ into another cut remains to be seen."</p>.<p class="bodytext">OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia and Russia on Sunday thrashed out a deal to slash production by 9.7 million barrels per day from May.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Oil prices briefly bounced Tuesday after US President Donald Trump tweeted that producers were considering cutting 20 million barrels per day -- comments later backed up by Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Global oil demand will fall by a record amount this year as lockdown measures imposed to curb the COVID-19 outbreak bring the economy to a virtual halt, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">For 2020 overall, demand will fall by 9.3 million barrels per day (mbd), with April alone down 29 mbd from a year earlier to levels last seen in 1995, the IEA said in its latest monthly report.</p>.<p class="bodytext">However, measures taken to bolster the global economy and to reduce oil supply should allow a "gradual" recovery in the second half of the year, it said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday forecast that oil prices would likely remain below $43 per barrel throughout 2023 owing to "persistently weak demand" in a deep global recession sparked by the virus.</p>.<p class="bodytext">However the rapidly falling cost of oil -- which greases the wheels of the global economy -- will help consumers, the IMF added.</p>
<p class="title">Oil prices extended their slump Wednesday, with WTI hitting the lowest level since 2002 as planned output cuts were deemed insufficient to offset a <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tag/coronavirus">coronavirus</a>-fuelled slump in demand.</p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/coronavirus-news-live-updates-3-deaths-in-telangana-1-new-case-in-manipur-all-returned-from-nizamuddin-meet-817763.html"><b>Track live updates on coronavirus here</b></a></p>.<p class="bodytext">The benchmark WTI contract tumbled to $19.20 per barrel, the lowest level in 18 years.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Shortly after, around 0920 GMT, WTI was down 2.3 percent at $19.66 per barrel and Brent showed a 3.6-percent loss at $28.54.</p>.<p class="bodytext"><b>Also Read: </b><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/coronavirus-india-update-state-wise-total-number-of-confirmed-cases-deaths-on-april-15-825539.html"><b>Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases</b></a></p>.<p class="bodytext">"Crude oil has been hit hard... as a massive drop in demand highlights the shortcomings of the OPEC+ production cut," noted Joshua Mahony, senior market analyst at IG trading group.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Whether today's slump in oil prices serves to rally OPEC+ into another cut remains to be seen."</p>.<p class="bodytext">OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia and Russia on Sunday thrashed out a deal to slash production by 9.7 million barrels per day from May.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Oil prices briefly bounced Tuesday after US President Donald Trump tweeted that producers were considering cutting 20 million barrels per day -- comments later backed up by Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Global oil demand will fall by a record amount this year as lockdown measures imposed to curb the COVID-19 outbreak bring the economy to a virtual halt, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">For 2020 overall, demand will fall by 9.3 million barrels per day (mbd), with April alone down 29 mbd from a year earlier to levels last seen in 1995, the IEA said in its latest monthly report.</p>.<p class="bodytext">However, measures taken to bolster the global economy and to reduce oil supply should allow a "gradual" recovery in the second half of the year, it said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday forecast that oil prices would likely remain below $43 per barrel throughout 2023 owing to "persistently weak demand" in a deep global recession sparked by the virus.</p>.<p class="bodytext">However the rapidly falling cost of oil -- which greases the wheels of the global economy -- will help consumers, the IMF added.</p>