Hopes that the reopening of economies will eventually lead to a pickup in demand have also very recently helped crude oil prices climb off the floor. A barrel of U.S. oil to be delivered in June jumped 20.5 percent to settle at US$24.56 Tuesday, up from a low point of US$6.50 set late last month. Oil is still well below the roughly US$60 that it cost at the start of the year, after plunging on worries that the collapse in oil demand would lead to topped-out storage tanks. Brent crude, the standard for international pricing, gained by 13.9 percent to close at US$30.97 per barrel. “The feeling on the floor is that energy is in a better spot, and while it’s not brilliant,“ the gulf between oil supplies and demand “is starting to shift in a more positive direction,” Chris Weston of Pepperstone said in a report.-AP

Source: The Standard May 06, 2020 02:37 UTC