London (CNN Business) Oil prices are falling again Wednesday after Saudi Arabia doubled-down on its threat to flood the world with millions more barrels of crude despite the coronavirus shock to global energy demand. In other words, the Saudis are digging in for a war of attrition"As this does not affect production in the short term, we believe this does not impact short term prices much, but could influence sentiment negatively, which explains the modest price decline today," said Bjoernar Tonhaugen, head of oil markets at Rystad Energy. Saudi Arabia had signaled its intention to go all-out for market share over the weekend after the acrimonious collapse of an alliance with Russia that had restrained oil supply in recent years, keeping a floor under prices. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, and US oil fell 4% to $32.98 on Wednesday. Brent prices have fallen by about 28% since Thursday, and 48% since a peak in early January.

Source: CNN March 11, 2020 13:17 UTC