The Economist Intelligence Unit

Oil prices dived Thursday on demand fears as more nations go into lockdown to staunch the spread of the coronavirus, while stock prices attempted a modest rebound. Both main oil contracts fell five percent for part of the day before clawing back some of their losses, extending this week’s meltdown to plumb four-month lows on virus-driven demand fears. “The new lockdowns have since yesterday caused a carnage in the oil market,” said Bjornar Tonhaugen, head of oil markets at Rystad Energy. “Oil demand will lose ground as a result of the new lockdowns… Prices now naturally decline on this grim prospect,” he added. The drop in oil prices will increase the pain on oil companies. Exxon Mobil announced Thursday it was eliminating 1,900 US jobs as part of a cost-cutting drive necessitated in part ...