Crude oil continues slide as demand slumps
Crude oil price dropped as the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil price fell to the lowest point in 18 years, an energy analyst at Thai Oil said on Thursday (March 19).
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil price fell to the lowest point in 18 years due to uncertainty following the decline in oil demand as many governments worldwide have announced suspension of international travel to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's energy minister said that the country would increase oil production in April this year to hit the highest level in history at 12.3 million barrels per day and will increase crude oil exports in May this year to its highest-ever at 10 million barrels per day.
The US Energy Information Administration reportedly said that the amount of crude oil in US stocks at the end of March 13 this year had increased from the previous week by about 2 million barrels to 453 million barrels, the highest level since July last year.
Benzene fuel prices dropped lower than those of Dubai crude oil after the amount of benzene exported from Japan decreased.
Diesel fuel prices dropped lower than those of Dubai crude oil as the market expected the amount of diesel fuel in the market to drop in the second quarter of the year for the usual annual maintenance shutdown.
