Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman has said he is closely monitoring the situation in the global oil market, as falling oil prices are expected due to the ongoing outbreak of Wuhan coronavirus.
However, the minister expressed confidence about the capabilities of China's government and the international community to reverse the spread of the deadly virus and fully eliminate it.
He added that the current developments in the crude market are mostly affected by "psychological factors", noting that the actual impact was limited.
Over fears of the coronavirus' impact on Chinese and world economic growth, oil prices have fallen slightly in recent days. Forex News earlier predicted a weekly five percent drop amid the global concerns.
$Oil prices slipped another -1.92% overnight, as investors remain worried about oversupply. Fears of the impact of the #coronavirus on global growth have also weighed on market sentiment. #WTI fell to $55.65/barrel; #Brent fell -1.72%.#Trading #Crude
— AxiTrader ME (@AxiTrader_ME) January 24, 2020
Losses may exceed deposits pic.twitter.com/O1r4IfPij4
The novel coronavirus originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, Hubei province, and since then, cases of infection have been registered in Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Macau, Nepal, France, the United States, France, and Australia.
In China, the number of infected citizens has reached more than 2,000, with at least 76 lethal cases in Hubei province so far, with a doctor included among the deceased.
