Crude oil above $50 signals turbulence

After remaining soft for the better part of 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, crude oil prices have began to inch up and are hovering around $50 per barrel mark.

However, experts are of the view that the commodity will be volatile this year and its movement will be determined by the vaccine rollout and whether the new strain of coronavirus will spread further.

Opec is meeting to decide (on the production levels for February) whether it can lift output as rising infections affect recovery in global energy demand.

Reports say while countries such as Saudi Arabia have been cautious on raising output, others like Russia have said the producers could add another 500,000 barrels a day next month.