OREANDA-NEWS. Barrel Brent at auction in London fell by 5.2%. As of 2:30 Moscow time, quotes fell by $ 1.76, to $ 32.09, according to the American media. Oil fell at the WTI auction in the United States. There, the cost of a barrel fell by $ 1.26, to $ 30.85.

The decrease in quotations occurs against the backdrop of a decline in business activity caused by the spread of coronavirus. According to Bloomberg, based on expert estimates, we are talking about the most significant drop in oil demand in recent decades.

The reduction in air transportation, the transfer of company employees to remote work led to the fact that oil consumption decreased by 3 million barrels per day. For comparison: in 1980, when the world economy was faced with the oil crisis, the daily reduction in consumption fell by 2.65 million barrels.

Since the beginning of this year, oil prices have fallen by 50%. Just last week, Brent quotes fell by 20%, which was a record drop for the day since 1991. According to Goldman Sachs, in the event of an unfavorable scenario, a daily reduction in consumption could rise to 4 million barrels by April. At the oil hedge fund, Andurand Capital Management is more pessimistic, expecting a reduction in consumption to 10 million barrels per day.