Oil Falling With The Opening of The Suez Canal And Attention Turns to OPEC+ Cuts

Oil prices retreated on Tuesday, March 30th, while navigation in the Suez Canal resumed days after being halted by the stranding of a giant ship, and the focus shifted to an OPEC+ meeting this week, where an extension of supply restrictions is expected to be discussed amid new closures to contain the spread of the Coronavirus.

Brent crude was down 15 cents, or 0.2%, to $64.83 a barrel. US crude fell 12 cents, or 0.2%, to $61.44 a barrel.

Traffic resumed in the Suez Canal yesterday evening, Monday, after the floatation of the huge container ship Ever Given, which blocked the waterway for nearly a week, leading to congestion of a large number of ships waiting to cross the shipping lane.

With the fears of the current supply shortage receding, the market’s attention turned to a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, especially Russia, in Vienna, in what is known as the OPEC+ group.

OPEC+ is discussing maintaining restrictions on products that have kept millions of barrels from the market daily to support prices, a strategy that has largely succeeded in recent months.