Oil sharply jumps in memory of the day when prices decline below zero.. Nikkei is falling, scoring the worst performance in a month

Oil sharply jumps in memory of the day when prices decline below zero: Today, oil is trying to hold on to its gains,
having suffered many losses either in last year or during the current month.

Although today is the memory of oil prices declining below zero, and being negatively priced,
it is regaining strength today and rising to record the best performance in more than a month and a half.

On a day of a setback… Oil records its highest levels in a month and a half

Oil prices continued to rise and they reached their highest level since early March on Tuesday morning.

Prices were supported by the weak dollar, as well as expectations of a decline in US oil reserves last week.

June futures price

The June futures price for Brent oil on the London Futures Exchange was $ 67.76 a barrel,
it is $ 0.71 (1.06%) higher than the closing price of the previous session.

The price of US West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for May in electronic trading
on the New York Mercantile Exchange was $ 64.00 a barrel,
$ 0.62 (098%) higher than the level at the close of the previous session.

The dollar fell to its lowest level in 6 weeks against other major currencies yesterday,
following a drop in returns on United States Treasury bonds last week. Today,
United States currency has remained near the minimum at 91055.

Reuters poll

According to a previous Reuters poll, crude oil inventories and distilleries in the United States declined last week.

This also supported prices.

At the same time, gasoline inventories are expected to increase.

Investors are analyzing the situation in fuel markets.

In the United States, refinery production reached its top in more than a year as economic activity recovered,
but demand for oil is sharply weak in India, which is struggling against another wave of Covid-19 pandemic.

National Petroleum Corporation

On other hand, yesterday, the Libyan National Petroleum Corporation (LNPC) declared that there was major force over exports from the port of Al-Hariqa and it also stated that it might extend the procedure to other facilities because of a budget dispute with the country’s central bank.

Failure of negotiations may lead to reduce Libya’s oil production by 280,000 barrels a day
and reducing daily production at less than 1 million barrels for the first time since October of last year

Saudi Arabia’s exports

Saudi Arabia’s exports of crude oil fell to their lowest level during 8 months in February,
according to local media reports, the world’s largest oil exporter is voluntarily committed to limit production to support global prices.

However, the growing number of Covid-19 cases, the world’s third-largest oil importer,
and the consumer have weakened investors’ optimism about sustained recovery in global fuel demand.

The energy market

The energy market is closely watching India as the current jump forces oil refineries to halt production and raises concerns about a potential new strain of Coronavirus.

Oil prices also rose against the backdrop of the upcoming OPEC + meeting, which may take place on April 28.

As previously known, the possibility of holding only a meeting of the Oversight Committee,
without a general meeting or Organisation is being discussed.

Three of Bloomberg delegates stated that they did not expect any changes to the planned increase in oil production.

last year

On such a day of last year, the global market faced an unprecedented crisis.

On April 20, 2020, during the evening trading session, the price of West Texas Intermediate crude futures for May delivery fell below zero for the first time in history and reached $ – 40 a barrel.

In the United States, oil prices negatively declined after blockade in many countries around the world – during the war against the Covid-19 epidemic – which severely reduced fuel demand, as oil producers from Saudi Arabia and Russia plunged markets with oil as a part of the price war.

Development of Covid-19 vaccines and restoration of unity within OPEC + alliance,
followed by significant reductions in crude oil supplies of this group, helped oil prices to be gradually recovered.

May

In May, with an entry of the new OPEC + agreement into effect, and the recovery of demand from China to almost pre-crisis level,
the oil market situation began to change in a positive direction.

Since the beginning of 2021, the price of crude oil in the United States has risen by more than 30%,
in reaction to forecasts for higher fuel consumption after the opening of economies and depletion of raw materials inventories in the United States of America.

Now, analysts do not see the danger of repeating last year’s situation.

Total closure is no longer threatening the world, and it is possible to completely break out of pandemic’s pressure over the coming year, which means that there is no prospect of a return to price imbalances again, at least in the perspective of next year.

The Nikkei index is retreating and records the worst performance in a month

In Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Nikkei index fell by about 2% on Tuesday.

This is its worst decline in nearly a month, affected by Wall Street losses on the previous day
and continued deterioration of the health situation in Japan.

Nikkei index

The Nikkei index ended the day with a drop of 584.99 points to reach 29100.38 points, while the broader Topix index which compiles higher capitalization securities, those dropped in the first section, fell by 30.31 points or 1.55% to reach 1926.25 points.

Thus, Tokyo reflected investors’ concerns about a request made to the Japanese government by Osaka Prefecture,
the country’s third-largest population, to declare once again a health emergency in that region because of increasing Coronavirus infections.

This means imposing new restrictions on private-sector economic activity and will be added to restrictions of 9 other provinces, including Tokyo, such as cutting off-hours for bars and restaurants in order to reduce infections.

The Nikkei index was also affected by the appreciation of local currency against the dollar,
as it was traded in a high zone at 107 yen, the highest level since the start of March.

major Japanese exporters

This development is hurting major Japanese exporters who have recorded the greatest loss of session along with air transport,
real estate, and machinery sectors.

SoftBank shares lost 1.83%, while Japanese automaker Toyota Motors dropped by 1.22%.

China

In China, stock markets in Hong Kong, Shanghai,
and Shenzhen was close to stability.