Ministers from the Opec group of oil-producing countries will meet in Vienna Thursday to try to overcome their divisions on how to react to the fall in oil prices in the wake of the novel coronavirus epidemic.
The group already had to contend with abundant supply on global markets weighing on prices but the spread of COVID-19 across the world has sent them plunging.
The European benchmark of Brent sank to under 50 dollars on Sunday, a level not reached since July 2017.
The effects of the virus on global demand — particularly in worst-hit China — has blown a hole through the group’s attempt to support prices at its last meeting in December by agreeing on production cuts.
