Oil price fall nears 30%, prompting recession fears
The price of oil fell by more than 30% on Monday, the biggest one-day drop since 1991, after a fallout between major oil-producing nations over production cuts.
Saudi Arabia slashed its prices at the weekend after failing to convince Russia to back sharp production cuts, causing Brent oil futures to reach US$31.02 ($47.10) per barrel.
OPEC members had been meeting with Russia and other non-OPEC members to discuss how to respond to falling demand caused by coronavirus but failed to agree on a production cut, which could have been as much as 1.5 million barrels per day.
James Trafford, analyst and portfolio manager at Fidelity International, said: “We would expect to see a bottoming-out of stocks before the commodity itself, this is because equities are an anticipatory asset class which must look forward to a future recovery, whereas the commodity market has to clear the current supply and demand dynamics.
“A number of factors will weigh heavily on medium-term prices, including whether a political situation can be attained to resolve the apparent OPEC+ standoff and how quickly the virus-hit areas return to normal levels of demand.”
Nigel Green, chief executive of deVere Group, said: “Every major stockmarket is getting hammered as oil prices plunge due to a price war following the breakdown of Saudi Arabia’s oil-cutting alliance with Russia.
“This is an issue that will not be resolved overnight and it can be expected to have far-reaching consequences.
“The ultimate impact that the oil price war will have on an already vulnerable world economy that’s struggling to cope with the spread of coronavirus remains unknown. However, the risk of a short but severe global recession in 2020 has been heightened dramatically.”
Recommended for you
As the first quarter of 2024 comes to a close, Money Management looks back on the corporate regulator’s bans and AFSL cancellations in the financial advice sector.
Insignia Financial is holding ‘relatively steady’ onto its rank as Australia’s second-largest financial advice licensee after the Godfrey Pembroke exit but Count is hot on its heels.
Liberal senator Slade Brockman has said the government needs to have a “cold hard look” at the level of regulation in the financial advice space and the costs of running a business.
FAAA chief executive, Sarah Abood, has warned changes in the first tranche of the QAR legislation around advice fees documentation could create more work for advisers rather than less.