Russia's Novak: Global oil demand may fall by 20 million bpd in next few weeks

The biggest challenge that the energy market facing today is the spread of the coronavirus,  Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday and added that the global demand was falling by around 10-15 million barrels per day (bpd).

Additional takeaways

"Global oil demand may fall by 20 million bpd in the next few weeks."

"We see some countries cutting their oil output, oil oversupply remains."

"It is wrong for Russia to raise oil production now."

"Russian oil is competitive, we don't see problems selling it."

"Current oil price is not satisfying for anyone."

"Russia is ready to survive through a period of low oil prices."

Market reaction

The barrel of West Texas Intermediate pulled away from its daily highs on these comments and was last seen trading at $21.93, still adding 3.5% on a daily basis.