Fri 24 July 2020:
Importers benefit from weak US dollar which hit lowest level since Sep. 2018 to offset low demand from rising COVID-19 cases
ANKARA (AA) – Crude oil prices were steady on Friday, as crude-importing countries benefited from a weak US dollar to purchase more crude volumes to offset coronavirus-related, low global oil demand.
International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $43.34 per barrel at 0620 GMT for a 0.07% gain after closing Thursday at $43.31 a barrel.
American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $41.02 a barrel at the same time for a 0.12% decline after ending the previous session at $41.07 per barrel.
The US dollar index, which measures the value of the American dollar against a basket of currencies including the Japanese yen, British pound, Canadian dollar, Swedish krona and Swiss franc, fell to $94.59 on Thursday — its lowest level since September 2018.
The decline in the value of the greenback is providing oil-importing countries the opportunity of purchasing more crude oil at cheaper dollar prices, which is changing market supply and demand dynamics in support of higher crude prices.
However, global oil demand remains low due to the rapidly increasing number of global cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), which surpassed 15.5 million late Thursday, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.
The number of COVID-19 cases in the US climbed above 4 million, followed by Brazil with almost 2.3 million cases, while India has the third highest with almost 1.3 million cases.
By Ovunc Kutlu / Anadolu agency
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