Oil prices fell below $30 a barrel on Monday as the worldwide coronavirus outbreak worsened over the weekend, exacerbating fears that government lockdowns to contain the spread of the disease would spark a global recession.
Top global oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia, having failed to agree on a plan to curb supply as the fall in global economic activity destroys oil demand, and have turned on each other to start a price war.
Saudi Aramco reiterated on Monday its plans to boost output to record levels to take a bigger share of the global market. Brent crude settled down $3.80, or 11.2%, to $30.05 a barrel. The international benchmark earlier fell to $29.52 a barrel, its lowest since January 2016 US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $3.03, or 9.6%, to end at $28.70 a barrel, its lowest since February 2016.
