As Oil Prices Tumble, COVID-19 Rapidly Escalates From a Health Crisis to a Full-Blown Economic Crisis in Africa’s Crude-Exporting Countries

Brent futures suffered the second-largest decline on record in the opening seconds of trading in Asia, behind only a plunge during the first Gulf War in 1991.

When oil trading started today in Asia, sellers moved quickly to unload their positions prompting a “cataclysmic collapse” that saw prices plunge by a stunning 31%, the single largest price drop in almost 30 years.

The sell-off was largely due to the collapse of the OPEC+ alliance, a group of 24 oil-exporting countries that includes 14 OPEC states and 10 other non-member countries, most notably Russia. In response, Saudi Arabia announced it will unilaterally increase output next month, flooding an already saturated market with yet more supply.

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by Eric Olander

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