Okechukwu Nnodim, Abuja

Crude oil in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries reference basket dropped for the second consecutive month in April, shedding 48 per cent of its worth, as cargoes of unsold oil continued to accumulate, OPEC has said.

In its just released Monthly Oil Market Report for May 2020, which was obtained in Abuja on Thursday, OPEC explained that oil in its reference basket crashed in price to the lowest monthly point since December 2001.

Nigeria is a strong member of OPEC. However, Brent, the crude against which Nigeria’s oil is priced, moved up marginally in price on Thursday.

It traded for $30.40 per barrel as at 9:13am Central Standard Time, after gaining $1.21 when compared to the previous day’s price.

Explaining movements in crude oil price, OPEC said, “The OPEC Reference Basket dropped by $16.26, or 48.0 per cent, month-on-month, to stand at $17.66/barrel, the lowest monthly point since December 2001.

“Crude oil spot prices recorded a second sharp monthly drop in April amid an ongoing rise in the oil surplus in the spot market and accumulating unsold cargoes, as refiners heavily cut runs due to plunging oil demand and rising global oil stocks, both onshore and offshore.”

The organisation said crude oil futures prices extended sharp declines in April amid a strong contraction in both the global economy and oil demand due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It stated that Brent declined by $7.10, or 21 per cent, to average $26.63/barrel, adding that the commodity was $20.94, or 31.8 per cent lower and averaged $44.84/barrel.

It observed that speculators had bet on a recovery in prices after Brent hit 18-year lows.

OPEC stated that the collapse of oil demand, refinery run cuts and rising global oil supply resulted in a large surplus in the oil market along with massive oil stock builds, both onshore and offshore.
“However, the contango structure flattened in late April and early May on signs of a tender recovery in market fundamentals,” it stated.

It said crude oil sellers continued to heavily discount their unsold crude oil cargoes for April and May delivery to find buyers, which resulted in swift declines in crude differentials in all regions.

The organisation stated that crude spot prices in the Atlantic Basin were under heavy pressure due to a sharp decline in crude demand for May loadings, while crude availability continued to increase, resulting in a significant rise in floating oil storage.

It noted that growing demand for floating storage pushed freight rates firmly higher, which added downward pressure to spot prices and crude oil differentials and limited arbitrage to Asian markets.

https://punchng.com/oil-records-second-monthly-drop-unsold-cargoes-increase/

Nigeria international Reserve account go hear am

Let's diversify then but bubu is too...

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That's why Wike dey para I presume

Nigeria don Enter One Chance...Diversify, dem no gree, Na to Use our Scare Resources go Find Oil for North them Sabi.

Abeg make I chop finish before the owner come back

Brace up.... we are heading into stormy waters...

Nigerian govt should consider opening a futures trade window for the public to buy in reserves...

Brace for impact Nigeria.Oil is totally useless.Diversify the economy, no they wont.

Hmm...This is the result of improper economical planning.

The problem of this country is that our government have decided to embezzle funds without planning ahead.

I wonder if we dey go forward or backwards in dx kwantri

So the barrels are now more expensive than the product.. well not all countries are dependent on oil to survive but we do.. so we go hear am!

God has blessed us with resources but our leaders jst donno hw to mk use of dem.

misplaced priority

Inside life

Good. Everyone should go home!

The party is over!

Its a welcome development.

Ok

Make e kuku useless, make we diversify by force.

Life after oil go bad gan

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That's gud. Anything that will break this country is welcome.

We want oduduwa nation, south west was far better before the discovery of their cursed oil.

Wow. We are in for difficult times.

Okay den share the fuel for the citizens for free we go dey use our thing dey on Gen nd power our car nd person wey no get any go dey use am baff..

hehehehehe

Bring them home, distribute it for free

We all know crude oil for its volatility.

who knows if it could be a blessing in disguise?
If it will lead to the stoppage of the free oil money that glued the backward and unproductive parasites with the rest of us, then it is welcome.
At least they will be free to fully practice whatever backward religious and cultural nonsense they like and stop dragging back the rest of us.
l no mention name o.

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